My Chicks are Purring?!

[CinnamonQueen12]

I keep my chicks in my room, so I can hear every little peep that they make. Just now, one of them made a kind of whirring sound, almost like a cats pur. I have heard my older chickens make a similar noise on occasion, but one time I remember hearing it the most was when one of the older chickens was a few weeks old. My mom had it sitting on her knee and she was stroking its back. The chick suddenly stretched its neck into my mom's hand and rested its head on her wrist.

Its wings drooped, its eyes closed, and it started making that whirring/purring sound every few minutes.

I'm curious to know if anyone else has heard it and if they know why the chickens make that noise. Maybe when their happy?

 

[WilsonAcres]

Ive heard my hen do it also when im stroking her back or just loving on her

I believe they do it when they feel secure and happy

 

[CinnamonQueen12]

I hope so! Just now I was watching my chicks, and when one of them saw me, she looked me full in the face and her whole body was vibrating with the force of her purring! Even now, as I'm typing this, I'm talking to them so they know I'm in the room, and I still hear her! I never thought chickens could be so attached to you! Its even better than a cat or a dog, in my opinion! (No offence to cat and dog lovers!)

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

Awe, you have a VERY happy chick. Isn't it just the sweetest sound.

When my chicks were growing up, I think they were about two months old, I'd take them out to their run on warm, sunny days and two of them would beeline together to the sand box for a good dust bath and the two would purr and purr. I think it's call a trill.

It means they are happy.

 

[CinnamonQueen12]

As they get older, it sounds less like a trill (thats a good word for it) and more like a warble. Still, its a beautifull sound, and it warms the heart and helps me sleep in peace knowing my babies are happy!

 

[Team Fluffy Puffy]

Love it haha
Its saying that they love you!

 

[5AcresFarmGirl]

I love that sound. Mine do it when I come into the room or when they're settling in for the night. They softly "peep peep peep" to one another & trill. Almost as if they're talking to one another telling bedtime stories or something. Soothing & simply adorable.

 

[TheSpiceGirls]

I love that sound. Mine do it when I come into the room or when they're settling in for the night. They softly "peep peep peep" to one another & trill. Almost as if they're talking to one another telling bedtime stories or something. Soothing & simply adorable.

I LOVE that sound. My big Jersey Giant will trill when she's happy and today was sunny and warm after a LOT of rain this winter and she was outside trilling up a storm.

 

[orrpeople]

So, I have had a completely different experience with purring. I first noticed it when I was letting a group of 10 week olds out in the garden (I won't free range them until they're bigger due to hawk issues ). Something startled the "head" pullet, she lead the others under the garden bench (a remade pallet crate) and began that sound. The others picked up on it and continued to purr until it kind of freaked me out. I decided to put them back into the safety of their coop and then they stopped. Go figure that my pullets would use that sound for "danger" instead of affection!

 

[lazy gardener]

So, I have had a completely different experience with purring. I first noticed it when I was letting a group of 10 week olds out in the garden (I won't free range them until they're bigger due to hawk issues ). Something startled the "head" pullet, she lead the others under the garden bench (a remade pallet crate) and began that sound. The others picked up on it and continued to purr until it kind of freaked me out. I decided to put them back into the safety of their coop and then they stopped. Go figure that my pullets would use that sound for "danger" instead of affection!

IMO, the purr of warning is a different sound all together than the purr/trill of a contented chick telling bed time stories. It's impossible to describe the difference with human words, but the difference is very distinct, and unforgettable. When I want to give a warning to my flock, whether chicks or adults, I do a high pitched "razzberry/trill". They instinctively know that sound, even chicks fresh out of the egg, and they will run for cover.