Loud Hens

[fallenweeble]

maybe give them some foraging projects?
- foods that they have to "work" a little bit. perhaps the entertainment will keep them focused and a little quieter?
put some veggies into a wire ball (more than one so they don't fight) that they have to pick and pull at to get the yumyums out of.
give 'em a squash with only a little hole dug in it so that they have to do most of the work to get the food out.

in truth i have no idea if this will help but i don't think the above exercises will do any harm either so it may be worth a shot. basically make them work for their treats so they don't mob you every time you appear!

 

[Churkenduse]

fallenweeble ,, Great ideas. Basically they are animals and animals will eat whenever they can get it:

it was explained to me like this, in the wild they have to eat as much as they can because they do not know where the next meal will be. It is their instinct. So they will devour all they can when they can. The more you feed them the more eat. They may not even be hungry just doing what comes natural.

Have you noticed how they take the food and run with it if they can? Same principle. It is called hoarding.

Have a dog? They are aways hungry right? Same principle also. When you see them getting too fat then you know they are eating too much. Pasta and rice etc are empty calories and have very little nutritonal value I would cut back. If it is really a leftover that is fine but I wouldn't go out of my way to make them "candy"that is what all that stuff is.

just my opinion

 

[Florida_girl]

Ok I will cut back on treats... Here is my next question that I need help with. Starting at 7am they are calling me. I am sure they want food. Or let out of the run. They are so loud! like screaming to get my attention. Besides running to them to get them to quiet down what are my options? They really do have me trained.

 

[Cuban Longtails]

I am not sure about this one. I believe they have an expected schedule in their heads, and being creatures of habit it will be a hard one to break. Hopefully someone else will have an idea for you.

 

[Florida_girl]

Quote:
Where would I get a wire ball? That sounds like a good idea to try.

 

[cybercat]

Do you not have their food inside the coop with them when you put them up at night? You might try that see if it helps.

And cut out the treats. I have seen this before when I am training dogs. They prefer treats over food. You will have to get a bit cold hearted here and tough. No treats till they start eating there food. They will not let themselves starve if they have there food there. As far as the noise I would suggest a radio or light in the coop. What I would do for a dog I would not do for a chicken to keep them silent.

You have a big probelm here and it might not fix fast. Sometimes this one takes time if you start having problems with neibors then you will have to get rid of the chickens and get a new batch. Food fixation is not an easy problem to work with it can be done but you have to be cold and tuff about it. Just say NO MORE Treats.

 

[Florida_girl]

Quote:
I moved a small food container up in their coop last night. That way they can eat at night. I also turned off the lights in the kitchen this morning, to hide from them. I did have to let them out of the run because they were screaming. but then got quiet maybe cause they couldn't tell I was in the kitchen. I also closed my windows because I think they can hear us getting ready in the am.
I just wanted them to be friendly so we gave them lots of treats and attention. I do get mobbed everytime I go out the backdoor. I thought it was cute till they got so noisey.

Thanks again and I hope it gets better.

 

[Ga Chicken Mom]

Perhaps your girls are really noisy because they are ready to start laying. Mine made so much noise the week or two befiore they started laying and continued for another two weeks after we started getting eggs. There was a lot of squaking for a month, sometimes they would wake me up from inside the henhouse! The girls have been laying for two months now and are very quiet. I feed treats everyday and they all come running but don't make any noise. They get greens, oatmeal, barley, brown rice and cheese regularly with organic layer feed free choice. They love their treats but also eat their layer feed very well. We have been getting 8 to 9 eggs a day from 9 poulets even though the weather is cold. I think one of the reasons they are laying so well through the winter is because they get such good treats.

 

[fallenweeble]

regarding the wire ball:
well, you can buy them at pet food supply stores in the bunny/cavy section OR you can get a small amount of hardwire or chicken wire cloth and make your own. just be sure you snip and/or sand all of the sharp edges down.

looks like you are getting lots of good advice!
good luck.

 

[Florida_girl]

Update: I just wanted to give an update on our situation. We now have 3 out of 4 birds laying eggs. They have seemed to have calmed down from last week. I did have to ignore them for a few days. (not completly ignore just didn't feed them treats all day long) They still do look to me for food but are not screaming at me in the morning. I have been giving them their snack before they go to bed. Thank you all for your good advice.