Need help, if this isn't corrected I am going to lose my flock for sure.

[Cluky]

So I have a flock of 6 banties in the city. They have a very good sized coop, plenty of outside space, food water. They are all around 9 months of age now and all are laying. About two months ago one of them (Wellsummer) started being extreamly loud. I mean top of her lungs loud. Problem is she does it only in the mornings between 6 and 9 am! I am all for some clucking but this is once again like having a rooster without having one! (she is laying I am positive she is a she) So I need to know can anything be done with this? I have been plenty around chickens but have never see this type of behavior before! My neighbours are going to kill me for this.

I tried to ask in my local farm nursery. The lady said something about her maybe outgrowing this, but my time is running out. This is summer here now, people starting to open their windows, and you can hear this one loud and clear with windows closed!

 

[goldiethehen]

I have this problem too!! Don't take my word for it, but here are my thoughts: If you are sure this is not a rooster, then you are not interfering with any actual laws, right? So maybe you could have conversations with your neighbors (I don't know how close you are) and ask them how they feel about this chicken. If they really can't live with it, I would try to find a new home for this loud hen

. Its pretty hard to relocate chickens, but especially roosters. With hens, you may be able to find them a great home, preferably out in the country.

If you don't want to have conversations with your neighbors, then I would just wait until someone complains. The problem with this is that they may not complain to you, instead animal control may hear from them. as long as you are not breaking any laws, you will be okay. Animal control will most likely ask you to find a home for this hen.

Both of my previous suggestions involve getting rid of the hen. Here is an idea, although I'm really not sure it will work.
When my hens are being loud in the mornings It usually means they want to be let out of their coop (my hens free-range). Maybe in the mornings you could bring out something distracting (compost, scratch grain, a handful of a special plant that they love, etc.) the problem with this suggestion is that it may only keep the hen distracted for a matter of minutes or even seconds.

Im sorry i can't think of any other suggestions. I hope this works out, and like the lady said, she grows out of this loud clucking!

Iris

 

[sezjasper]

I can relate...I also have a singer...our Buff Orpington! When she lays her egg, EVERYBODY has to know about it! She sings loud and long...she sings on her way out of the coop, across the yard, and will often end up singing on the porch. Sometimes she sings when the other hens lay, too! I was worried about it at first because we are not supposed to have chickens where I live...I thought nobody would know as long as we didn't have a rooster, but I didn't know about the egg song at the time. My neighbor enjoys the singing (and he enjoys the eggs I share with him, too!) so he's not a problem. Nobody else has complained and if they haven't heard her by now, they never will...LOL!!

You may want to try going outside so that she can see you as soon as she starts to sing. My hen always stops when I go outside. It may be, too, that you won't have to worry so much, as soon as it gets hot the windows close and the a/c comes on, anyway! If you're friendly with your neighbors, you may want to share some eggs with them now and then, or even bring them into your yard to see your chickens and get to know them. The idea of hens singing when they lay eggs is kind of funny when you think about it, and if you can get your neighbors to laugh about it your problem is solved!

Good luck!

 

[Eggcessive]

I have many hens laying in the morning, and there are a couple who make a lot of noise, not an egg song, but lots of squawking while they are hanging around the coop. The main offender is an ancona, and she drives me crazy if I'm in there working, and this has gone on for a couple of years. You will probably have to live with it, or just try to find a home for your welsummer.

 

[chickencrazy429]

Has your hen started being aggressive and acting like a rooster? Chickens can 'change' gender. Hens can 'change' their gender and they will act like a rooster. They will grow spurs, start crowing, and mate with other hens, but they can't fertilize eggs. BUT-- you might just have a loud hen.