How to make them SHUT UP!

[giannaballin]

My chicken is quite now that I put on a hammock for it

 

[littlelizzy123]

Ok, so I am totally with you on this one, OP. I have 6 lovely ladies in a suburban setting, neighbors on both sides. People say chickens are kinda dumb, which I agree with, but they aren't completely stupid. Yes, they are stupid enough to eat styrofoam like it is the most nutritious food source on the planet, but they are smart enough to learn certain things. Like, for instance, that if they make enough noise, you will give in and throw them something good. At 6 am. Throwing them food to get them to shut up is counterproductive. Don't do it. Stay strong!

Our girls started out quiet. Laid their eggs, sang the egg song, which both I and my neighbors loved to hear (don't worry, I asked them. One thought it was "cute" and the other thought it "sounded like eggs". It helps that I give them a dozen every other week or so.) They do not sing the egg song at 6am, which is another reason it is tolerable.

Then winter came, and in CO, it is COLD! So we threw them a bit of scratch in the morning and some in the evening to help keep their body temps up. Mistake, mistake, mistake. Should have just kept it to throwing it out in the evening, a treat for a good day's work. They weren't locked in at night, they came and went as they pleased, another mistake. They started making a ton of racket, right under the bedroom window and 6am as soon as they woke up. I get up at 5am when they are asleep, so I didn't understand the amount of noise they were making because I was gone by then. Until I had my day off.

It was unbearable. Not just the normal chicken sounds. I like chicken sounds. This was an all out auditory assault on the eardrums, and for no other reason than they wanted scratch and now knew how to get it.

Well, no more. We refuse to negotiate with terrorists any longer.

We lock them in the actual coop every night, close the pop door so they can't even get into the run. This is key. It keeps their first week of racket in a confined space, because I promise you, it will be LOUD! They are angry they can't get out, angry they can't scream for scratch, just generally angry. We should have been doing this anyway, it is safer for them as their are feral cats, raccoons, foxes, owls, etc that roam at night. Even if we have a 6 ft privacy fence all around, it is just safer to have them locked in at night.

But they got used to it. I would leave for work at 5:30am while they were still asleep. My husband lets them out when he goes to work at 7am. They don't scream any more, they don't try to extort us out of scratch, they don't even come up to the sliding glass door and peck at it any more. They used to stand there for hours, pecking and howling until someone threw them something or chased them away with a broom.

I'm not saying chickens shouldn't make noise, they are chickens. But there is a point when they do it just because they know they can get what they want if they do it loud enough and long enough.

 

[Sustained]

I had 6 barred rock girls that used to cause a downright ruckus all day long. I tried everything to keep them occupied. Nothing worked. I finally let them out and gave them the entire run of our fenced backyard and after that the only time they got noisy was at egg laying time. Now I have silkies and they refuse to leave the safety of their coop and run. They're usually quiet though so I guess some ladies just need more freedom to be happy

 

[alibabba]

This is good stuff!

My chickens had been so quiet in their little dog house coop, Then got them chicken mansion, 9x7 with wonderful natural roosts, laying boxes(litter boxes) no longer out in the weather. I let them out and they only go back in to lay and then at bed time.

So why the heck did they start screaming bloody murder to get out in the morning over the past week or so? Is the shed that much brighter? It's annoying because I have the baby monitor on so I hear the 7 of them screaming and growling as if they were right next to my bed.

I guess they did train me, because I would drag and stagger myself out there to open the door. Then perfect peace, but I was then awake...grrrrr!


So I decided not to let the possum eat the food out of the feeder out in the yard where I want them to poop ( not poop in the coop while they eat.) I figured I'd bring it in at night and set it back out in the morning.

Yesterday I woke up at 9:45....what, I know!! To silence????? Sure that I was about to discover a massacre inside, I flung open the door. They had shock and surprise all over their faces while they were happily mingling around eating and drinking. Almost like they got caught being naughty! It was hilarious.

So, worked for me to keep some feed in and a feeder out. Me (and neighbors) can blissfully sleep in ( I'll sweep up the extra poo)

 

[strangeanimal]

WHen I want my rooster to shut up I sit out there in the morning with him in my lap and pet him. It's the only thing that works 100%

sorry if this is an old topic but came across it looking after some tips besides 'quote ' , untill now all that worked was indeed petting but unfurtunately don't have always the time for it , have not the nicest neighbours either , they once told me after my anouncement ''there will be chickens in the backyard , if you like it costs nothing to give them your scraps and they will happily eat it " , their reply was simply '' oh chickens no they stink , there goes the nice summer ! but it would be the least you 'd allow us to do yes , because we pay a lot for the trash ! '' whereby her husband replied " yeah so we can have a good BBQ too otherwise they keep on smelling and just eating ! we just moved here and it would be our first summer with a yard ! "

so on topic here : tried with the water , reaction of the SCREAMING few ? just continuing as if it just rained few drops or one second '' uh wait a sec did you feel that ? whatever ''
no treats in the morning is already a steady rule , they get one hand each hen / rooster of grain in mornings early , later on they get some scraps and other food but noticed the same ; petting is the only thing that really works , so looking for other things now to ' shut them up ' ... certainly since the neighbours are avoiding me and prefer to pay high taxes instead of free ' dumping the scraps to my chickens ' .

 

[bobbi-j]

sorry if this is an old topic but came across it looking after some tips besides 'quote ' , untill now all that worked was indeed petting but unfurtunately don't have always the time for it , have not the nicest neighbours either , they once told me after my anouncement ''there will be chickens in the backyard , if you like it costs nothing to give them your scraps and they will happily eat it " , their reply was simply '' oh chickens no they stink , there goes the nice summer ! but it would be the least you 'd allow us to do yes , because we pay a lot for the trash ! '' whereby her husband replied " yeah so we can have a good BBQ too otherwise they keep on smelling and just eating ! we just moved here and it would be our first summer with a yard ! "

 
so on topic here : tried with the water , reaction of the SCREAMING few ? just continuing as if it just rained few drops or one second '' uh wait a sec did you feel that ? whatever ''

no treats in the morning is already a steady rule , they get one hand each hen / rooster of grain in mornings early , later on they get some scraps and other food but noticed the same ; petting is the only thing that really works , so looking for other things now to ' shut them up ' ... certainly since the neighbours are avoiding me and prefer to pay high taxes instead of free ' dumping the scraps to my chickens ' .

Chickens make noise. They make noise when they lay an egg, they make noise when a fly buzzes by, they make noise if they perceive a threat, and for about a thousand other reasons. Trying to "shut them up", in my opinion is not going to create a peaceful, happy flock. Are you allowed chickens where you live? If so, maybe try offering gifts of eggs to pacify your neighbors, or just know that this will be a bone of contention between you. Where is the coop in relation to the neighbors' yard? Can you move it further away from their house? How many chickens do you have in what sized space? If cared for properly, there shouldn't be much odor.

No way would I want neighbors dumping scraps over the fence. Who knows what they might feed them?

 

[alessadry]

They are holding conversations! Even among humans, if you put a group of people together what will they do? Most likely, talk, talk, talk. When I hear too much quiet, that's when I worry, did they escape the yard? Did some animal eat them? Are they alive? I go check them out. Their sounds are reassuring to me as it means all is fine! Of course, if they are too loud and make certain noises, that can mean that they need something so making sure they have food water, and that they're busy and not too hot or too cold, is important.

 

[ktmarie]

I don't think chickens are like children at all. I think they are like chickens...and who would want to change that, really? My chickens are never bored, they free range at will, had an acre to live on and the surrounding fields to stretch into, plenty of food, variety of forage.

Guess what? They are still noisy sometimes...after laying an egg, settling a roost dispute, when a hawk flies over, etc. This is called communication and they should be allowed to express themselves without having to cluck sotto voce because they live where chickens should not live for fear of the neighbor's displeasure.

I get it that some of you live in town and you don't want to disturb the neighbors, but you did choose a pet that has no volume control...what in the heck did you expect? Tiny squawk collars to suppress the noise?

These are farm animals.

The reason you aren't getting many solutions offered is because there are many of us that accept the realities of raising chickens, don't try to adapt them to city life so we can have a few eggs without the side effects of noise and we don't see any merit in it when it isn't necessary....our solutions were viable.

You don't need to own chickens to enjoy fresh eggs...there are sources out there. You don't need to suppress chicken instinct and natural behavior to suit your life...your life doesn't hinge on this happening. It's just a whim, a hobby, a new fad. Solutions are generally not needed when chickens stay in the country and city things stay in the city. The problem is self-inflicted and is just as easily solved by not inflicting it upon oneself.

I know that is not a popular view, but there it is. I'm sorry some of us were less than helpful but it is a recurring subject on this forum that has a very obvious, complete solution....don't have chickens in the city.

You sound very self righteous. I've had chickens for 10 years in the city and happened to finally raise a small group of cuckoo marans that I've always wanted and they happen to be MUCH louder than any previous birds I have EVER had. Not everyone can have acres of land and live in the middle of nowhere.