How noisy are they??

[foweler]

$15 a year? My city wants a use permit of around $1400 a year. And all of the Draconian rights to inspect that go along with that. And 25' clearance from any inhabited building which might be tough.

My neighbors are OK with it so far but I do worry and try to keep the early morning noise down. During the day there is a lot of ambient noise so I'm not too concerned.

My limited experience would agree with your pecking order theory. My RIR is the boss and she is the one demanding to be let out in the morning and the one to yell at me for several minutes after being let out just on general principles.

I agree with getting three. I think it gives a better flock dynamic than two would. Plus its 1 more to love. I would love more but the noise and the poop would take over the place I'm afraid.

 

[eastbaychicks]

Quote:
Serious? Is there no inbetween ground for the peeps that only need a few? YIIKES.

We're only allowed up to 10 hens (sorry no roos allowed here). And we're required to be 5' from any fence with a neighbor on the other side (which is very vague meaning I shouldn't allow my hens in that area at all). Humm not so bad I guess if they do complain and I have to get legal. Course I still would have to deal with Animal Control coming down to stick their nose in my business, and their lame rule of 10 sq ft/bird is over the top from what I've read and besides they just sleep in there... and hang out in nesting boxes as they want. Has anyone read that a chicken needs 10 sq ft? Am I mean for not doing that?

Thanks for making me feel lucky.

 

[nwgirl]

I live on a small city lot 50 x 120. My neighbors had chickens, four of them, a year before I decided to raise chickens, and honestly they are so quiet you'd never even know they had chickens.

My chickens are fairly quiet at 17 weeks. They have not started to lay yet though. I have one that just recently started to talk to me and sometimes she can be loud, but its not offensive.

If you are concerned then I would suggest talking to your neighbors first.

 

[foweler]

I didn't contact the city directly but rather did some online research. I'm not dumb enough to show my hand.

I found this:

http://www.norcalblogs.com/sustainable/2008/07/playing_chicken.html


It may have been addressed as backyard chickens are becoming more popular. It may also have not been addressed purposely as our city council has a God complex and is in desperate need of capital to fund their misguided enterprises.

I'm not about to ask.

 

[eastbaychicks]

Quote:
I wouldn't either... I'd be chillin on the low down.

 

[shopchicks]

For those of you in town, have you actually had a neighbor complain about noise?

I am having a hard time convincing my husband to let me get some chickens. However, the run would be probably close to 50' away from houses on all sides, and the coop would be in our shop, which is insulated and dry-walled, so I suspect that it would deaden sounds quite well before the hens are let into the run in the morning.

We have two large dogs who bark intermittently during the day (like when a squirrel runs down the fence) but there are no nuisance barkers in the neighborhood. We have never received any complaints about our dogs from the neighbors. I think that my husband is a light sleeper because he wasn't raised with animals, so if the cat is locked in the veggie garden at night and meowing (about 40-50 feet from our bedroom window) he can hear it. Chickens won't work if they cause him to lose any more sleep...

 

[GardeNerd]

Quote:
I am the light sleeper in the family. My husband says I would wake up if a mouse farted. When the chickens wake up- I wake up no matter what.

I haven't used an alarm for anything since early June when they started laying. The coop is about 35 feet from our open bedroom windows. Even with the fan going on high, the leghorn hybrid manages to wake me up. I go out and let them out because I don't wish to create conflict with my husband or the neighbors. Then, they are quiet until they lay late on in the morning.

If your husband is a light sleeper like me, and you have a noisy hen, it might wake him up even at 50 feet. I can just hear my neighbor's hens from across the street when they sing the egg song and that is more than 100 feet away. If you have closed and double paned windows it might be okay.

I live in a big city on a small lot, and we haven't had any neighbors complain so far.

 

[shopchicks]

Thank you! We don't leave the windows open, so that helps. Maybe I will put the radio back in the part of the shop where the hens would be and see how loud it has to be to hear it in the bedroom. Or maybe I'll find a recording of chickens and play it back there and see if he notices.

 

[kelliepulido]

my chickens sound like a huge flock of geese.they have some kind of ruckus going on almost all day long down in the barn and the the roos start crowing around 3;30am or if the flood light is on too long.I have very short periods thr.the day when they are quiet.And they do alot of sqwuaking when they go to roost too,that lasts until it is totally dark.

 

[Tala]

Honestly, I couldn't even hear my rooster this morning. I was starting to worry!
What it was, frequently we have the windows opened at night/early am, but this morning they were closed.

We live right in the city, and my neighbor's dog has the most awful bark ever - the same neighbor who says she likes chickens! She'll probably be the first person that I offer eggs to when we start having too many to eat. Anyway, nobody has complained. My other neighbor just curiously asked me why I moved the chicken tractor every day. hehehe We have trains here too, but I don't even hear them most of the time.

I don't think chickens are very noisy, but I guess it's a personal thing. My dad is really bothered by any little sound - someone like him might be bothered.