Noisy Barred Rocks

[jen3910]

Hello

I have 4 girls that are just starting to lay. 2 Barred Rocks, and 2 EE's. The Easter Eggers are being nice and quiet, but the Barred Rocks are crazy loud for a couple hours just about every day. I wouldn't mind it if it was just a few minutes, but they keep going and going and going. Brack brack brack brack Bra-Cack!

If I'm home I can go out and tell them to knock it off (which actually works!) and sometimes I throw them some table scraps or scratch to occupy them. Lord only knows how loud they get when I'm at work.

I live in a suburban neighborhood and these girls have got to be a bit quieter. Will they settle down soon, after they get used to laying? I was also considering keeping them in the coop until noon, at least that way their "songs" are deadened a bit. Any ideas???

Thanks so much
Jen

 

[sourland]

Chickens will be chickens. Some love to brag/complain about the egg laying process. Leaving them in the coop until they have laid might lessen the noise.

 

[7 Biddies]

My BR is quiet; it's the Australorp who's a blabber mouth. Just like children, they all have their own personalities, some traits being less desirable than others.

 

[jen3910]

Thanks...thats what I figured. There was a link to HenCam in a similar post and I've been reading her ideas too (thanks Terry!) This morning I started a compost heap for them to play around in, seems to be keeping them pretty well occupied this morning. It's just frustrating because I spent so my time and effort getting the house and run built, and I'd be so sad if I have to get rid of them because they are too noisy. I also think that I might just be extra sensitive to it and it probably doesn't bother others as much as I think. The neighbor that is closest to them claims she never hears them, and I think even if she did hear them, she is the type of person that would enjoy the cackling.

 

[Fred's Hens]

Chickens are noisy, that's a basic, simple fact. Whenever someone says that chickens are quiet, it is the rarer, individual thing. Otherwise, all chickens are noisy, or at least, those planning on keeping chickens in an urban area, with tight quarters, need to be aware of this reality. Song birds sing, crows caw, eagles screech and chickens are birds, and they simply are not quiet. They make their various clucks, squawks and b-gawks. It is what they do.

 

[jen3910]

Update: My two barred rocks Bonnie and Charlie are laying pretty much every day, and their egg song is nice and short, less than a minute. I guess there was about a week of noise - but things have definitely settled down.
As an aside, Stella, one of my EE's, is laying every day also. For three days in a row she laid jumbo double yolkers!

Just waiting on Chelle - she is starting to squat, and her comb is finally changing color - she is an EE too. I hope she has a different color shell than Stella - she has a light blue shell - very pretty.

 

[thomaschickens]

Yeah!!!!

I'm glad everything is working out for you! About a week ago, there was SO much noise coming from the coop area I just had to go check it out to make sure everyone was ok. Well it turns out that one of my girls was trying to lay her first egg and she was less than thrilled about it. It was the most ridiculous sight I ever saw...Into the nest box...back out...circle the run...back in the nest box, sit for a second...jump back out...circle again...then up to the roost pole...then down...take a drink of water then repeat all of that for about 5-10 minutes. BAGAWK, BAGAWK, BOK, BOK, BAGAWK..What was even funnier yet was that everyone, I mean EVERYONE else starting chiming in. Almost cheering her on. It was quite a sight, AND sound.

At that moment in time, I was SO grateful to not have any neighbors within earshot. Anyways she did this for the first couple of eggs, but I suppose she has figured out now that crying about it doesn't change anything

ETA: oh and I think that Barred Rocks are generally noisier. At least my BR is the most "talkative" of all my girls. Laying or not