Noisy Chicken Advice Please

[Cathand3chicks]

Nice to read this, we have one noisy girl out of 4 and I was close to getting rid of her as she's waking me and probably our neighbours up every morning. However I'm going to try shutting them back in their coop see if that helps! She's very dominant and I think just likes to boss the others a bit too loudly

 

[birdlady79]

I have 1 out of my 7 that is sooo LOUD!! My Wellie, who is the boss.... She wakes up early and BAWKS!! She's squated for me yesterday so hopefully she will start laying soon... My BR and my BO are also really starting to get loud... Luckily my neighbors are cool with the chickens so they can be as loud as they want ... But some days she does get on my nerves! Lol ... I hope mine sing the egg song soon!!

 

[eggsontoast]

Lots of people will say their birds are quiet. OK, that's nice. Some truly are. But the best advice I've seen is written, I believe, on the My Pet Chicken website, under the FAQ section.

Question: "Which breeds are quiet?"
Answer: "There is no such thing as a quiet chicken."

Haha. Mine are little noisemakers, too...except for the Silkie, who just makes tiny peep noises. I just hope the neighbours don't get mad at me. Maybe I should share some eggs to keep the goodwill?

 

[eggsontoast]

We have had chickens for about a year now in a semi-urban setting. For a time one of our barred rocks (highest in the pecking order) was very loud and I was constantly trying to quiet her down so she wouldn't disturb the neighbors. She has a really disturbing loud cackle! I found ways to keep her busy throughout the day and this helped. I would added extra dirt around the pen for her dig around in, added lots of straw with dry mealworms for her to look for, after weeding I place everything I pull in the garden into the pen, lots of treats etc. Over the year she has quieted but others have temporarily taken her place. I have also noticed a pattern where they are usually loudest in the morning when egg laying is happening but afternoons are usually very quiet.

My experience also. Mine are noisiest around "laying time" which occurs mid-late morning in my little flock. In the afternoon, they're totally quiet.

 

[yayagoldie]

I have a hen named Ethel Merman. If you are of a certain age you know that she was a singer with a big LOUD voice! She is the largest, bossiest, and noisiest of our 6 almost 5-month old Red Sex-Link chickens. I have often wondered why she is so noisy; at first I would run out and look in the coop for eggs. Not laying noises.She squawks when she wants treats, when she gets treats, when she's bored, when she hears my voice, … I am relieved to know that many chickens are just plain noisy! I am trying to accept her for who she is - a talkative and expressive bird. The Queen of the Coop.

I hope she'll quiet down when she starts laying, which should be soon. Although from what everyone says, that may just be wishful thinking! I also live in close proximity to neighbors I just hope that they will appreciate Ethel Merman. She certainly adds some liveliness to the neighborhood.

 

[speckledmthrhen]

We too have struggled with "will the neighbours complain?" Our hens have been VERY loud, how we tampered it down, it s sad, but we no longer allow them to free range in the morning and at night. Also, we "tricked" them into thinking multiple nests were great for laying in (golf balls). Problem solved.