Ok, so I am still trying to get the wood I need to start my coop (MY goal is to build here in the fall and winter and have it done in time for me to get the chicks for my birthday in March. I am not sure that anyone else in the house shares my goal but that is what it is... ) Anyway, while I am searching for wood... I am planning out my hens. I thought I had it all settled then I read something disturbing. I read that some hens are louder than roos!! OH MY would THAT have me in trouble! I searched for "quiet" chickens and have found that is sort of dependent on the bird. But, I am hoping that you can give me some input on the breeds I am thinking of to tell me if they are even worth trying in my suburban area. If any of the breeds I am looking into are notorious for noise I would rather steer clear than risk having operation "eat healthy and teach the kids where their food comes from" shut down. I understand "most" of the noise comes during the laying of an egg but I read something that said their hen bawked for an hour with each egg! YIKES! I clearly need to get more information before I start building. So, the breeds I want for me are: 1. Rock 2. Sussex 3. Wayandotte 4. Jersey Giant 5. RIR 6. Red Sex Linked (so many names I have seen for this it is crazy) 7. Orpington 8. Brahma I am wanting dual purpose birds here... and the less broody the better -- so I have not totally settled on the breeds (remember I only want 6 for myself) So I am still on the fence with the Orpington and especially the Brahma due to broodiness. Also, I really wanted one of each type and not a flock of all the same for variety in my flock. If that is not the best idea for noise I guess that will have to change too. Now, after much begging from the kids, I have told them they could each pick out one hen to keep as a pet (who happens to lay eggs). They have selected: 1. Polish 2. Ameraucana Any input you can give me would be of great help.
Quietness really is dependent on the bird. Some breeds in general are WAY quieter than others though but most of such aren't available at hatcheries and feedstores. And speaking of such, if you're not wanting broodiness - Don't worry. Hatcheries breed it out so even your Brahmas don't have a great chance of going broody, I say choose what you want. The Ameraucanas (they're actually Easter Eggers, mutt chickens, as hatcheries don't breed or sell real Ameraucanas) are a great choice though since they rarely ever go broody (the real thing does though) and lay lots of eggs, however they do vary. Some lay poorly. All the listed ones are just fine though, but don't expect too much "dual purpose" out of the Polish or Sex-Links; The rest won't be anywhere near as meaty or big as some photos you see online though. Remember, these are just "pet quality" birds bred for production, not dual purpose.
I have a Barred Plymoth Rock, a Blue Andulusian and 5 EEs. The BR is the loudest, but we had a rooster before and she is nothing compared to him. She's certainly not a disturbing kind of loud, but she makes the stereotypical chicken noises that you hear in cartoons when she's about to lay. It's not louder than a dog barking, that's for sure. The rest squawk periodically, but it's a very low and quiet sound.
My EE's are by far my quietest. I hardly ever hear a peep from them. I'd have to say that my Polish is my most vocal...even more so than the one rooster we have. He very rarely crows. My leghorns are also quiet. You know, now that I think of it, I really never hear them except for two that I listed (Polish and Rooster). lol
My speckled sussex are LOUD and chatty, and, did I say loud. My lt. sussex are very quiet. My BSL, EEs and New Hampshire are quiet too but not as quiet as the lt. sussex.
If you only plan on keeping hens the Brahma, Wyandotte, and Rocks would be a good choice. The hatchery stock will be less likely to go broody and some breeder stock based on teh breeder selection may not go broody as well. The males of the breeds are quite loud.
Our Buff Brahmas are by far the quietest of our girls (we rarely even hear their "egg song")but have just started laying so I can't answer to broodiness. Our Speckled Sussex girls are very chatty but in a quiet way,not loud at all. The Buff Orpingtons we had were LOUD and constantly fussing. Same for the Wyandottes,plus they sounded obnoxious and were not very friendly.
