How noisy are they really?

[LoganM]

My wife and I are just getting into chickens. We have paid for four young ladies who we are going to be getting in a few weeks. We have to get the coop built and they need to get a little older so they can live outside. So far we have been very Gung Ho about it. But then last night we watched Our Feathered Friends: Life on a Chicken Farm. The chickens were making so much noise. After that we got a little worried about the noise level. Are chickens really all that noisy?

 

[NottinghamChicks]

Four hens are not that noisy. Each breed is different but overall if they are well tended, meaning cleaned, well fed, watered daily and given some attention their is minimal noise. Even if you are on a small city lot you should be fine. Enjoy

 

[sgtmom52]

My hens can be noisy at times ~ esp when they sing the "egg song"!

 

[wood&feathers]

How many chickens were on the farm in question? What breed?

I hear leghorns, agriculture's favorite layer, are particularly noisy. You say you ordered just four hens. I seriously doubt you will find them loud. Like all birds, their language is part of the fascination of keeping them. I love listening to my girls purr in my lap, or the rooster clucking at them over to a treat. My big guy has a pretty deep voice and only really crows at dawn and dusk unless something disturbs him. There are much louder things wild in my woods!

 

[tinychicky]

hens are generally pretty quiet- unless one takes to crowing that is! if something alarms them, they may make some loud noises (that's when you should check on them to make sure they're okay) but for the most part, they are quiet.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

They can be noisy-ish at times and then quiet at others. They are much more talkative when I'm out in the coop doing things.

Mine will make this guttoral growling noise when they want treats or right before they're going to lay an egg. Then there's the egg song that's pretty loud (bock bock bagawk). I'm fairly far from my neighbors yet they can hear my chickens when they're outside (they claim to not mind and I also have a rooster). I do have a bit more than 4 hens though

They are MUCH less obnoxious than a barking dog...

 

[LoganM]

Thanks all. You really do make me feel better. My yard is a pretty good size, so they are not THAT close to neighbors. We are only allowed to have chickens if the coop is 50 feet from any neighbor's house.

My wife chose a Buff Orpington, Wyandotte, Marans, and a Jersey Giant. Four chickens, four breeds. That is how my wife rolls.

They will go along well with the mutt dog we have.

 

[superchemicalgirl]

Also free eggs to the neighbors occasionally makes them feel more charitable towards the noise

 

[blefky]

Mine are usually pretty quiet until they see me coming towards the coop and then they get excited and a bit loud - but it's a joyful noise! I will agree that my leghorn has the biggest mouth of the flock.

 

[Jasmine130]

I have 3 chooks, 3 breeds too

. I think, since I have a limit of 4, I should go for variety. That's how I roll, anyway.
My girls are not very noisy. I find them quite musical and chortle-y. Celeste, my salmon faverole, is the noisiest of the 3, and she gets indignant over some perceived something or other and ramps up to ba-GAWK. But altogether, they are not louder than the squirrels in the trees, the crows out front, or the 3+ chis at my neighbor's house.

They are not laying eggs yet, but I expect some pretty big egg songs when that happens. I'm waiting for it!