Noisy Chicken Advice Please

[CariLynn]

I am very fortunate to live out in a rural setting and am zoned for animals, but we have a farm and our chickens are part of it. When our elderly neighbor passed away, we met her two daughters one afternoon. One was very nice, the other, very pinchy faced and mean spirited. First thing she asked if it was ME who had the rooster who crows all the time, I thought she was teasing and said yes, I have actually my senior roo and 2 others who were learning to crow and will be going to their new homes soon. Boy she gave me the what for and who is, how it disturbs HER peace and quiet, she doesn't like the sound, we should eat them, etc. I raised one eyebrow and bit my lip. For the next few weeks, I encouraged my rooster Chief to crow, if you praise him he will.

I guess I look at it that I have to put up with my neighbors noise, their screaming kids, their motor bikes and revving engines, the parties that last till 2 am, so a beautiful rooster is nothing compared to that.

As what someone else said, they do make noise.

 

[2greenboyz]

CariLynn, I say amen to that I laughed so much as I read your 2nd paragraph it's so true - even in the city where I live. I wish I had a rural setting tho instead of stupid setback laws, I'd do exactly as you did with the roo. What a kick. Thanks for making my day!

 

[speckledhen]

Quote:
Oh, yeah, that's just it. Every weekend and every holiday, especially, noise, noise, noise. I don't complain about theirs and they can just deal with my roosters.

I guess if the OP's birds are not legal, it's a special kind of stress for her, but the chickens don't know or care about that.

 

[jandrusrn]

I wonder if maybe bantam breeds are quieter - simply because they're smaller? I don't know - but it's something you could look into. I put a plastic kiddie pool in my chicken run - put sand, dirt, ashes and DE in there - and they love getting in there and dust bathing. I'm sorry I don't have any great answers for you. Mine are awfully noisy sometimes - but fortunately we live way out in the country and don't have to worry about them bothering neighbors. Hope you find a solution.

Yay!! Didn't think of that, but what a nice thing to do for your girlies..... will certainly give it a try this next winter. As of now I'm trying to find just the right teeny weeny pond for them if it gets just too darned hot for their fluffy butts in our Southern California summer..... woooo hooooo!

 

[jandrusrn]

I know what you are talking about. It probably bothers me more than the neighbors (who all have barky dogs) but all the same I don't want them announcing first thing in the morn when some people are trying to sleep or just becuz a neighbor's cat walks thru the yard. I've learned sometimes it helps to distract them. I keep some millet sprays on hand and - try not to do this too often or you'll condition them to yell

- but I take one of those out there - keeps them busy for an hour or so. You could do the same thing with a piece of fruit - almost time for melon season they love watermelon that will keep them occupied. I was especially concerned b/c while it is legal to have chickens here, the set backs put them in about a 2 inch square in the middle of my yard. Last winter we had to get the roof done. The city inspector had to come over twice to check the roof and I'm going PLEEze be quiet for a while, like NOW. Thank God he didn't even notice them.

Oh another idea - get one of those little balls that you fill up with a treat and they chase it around. Give them a job to do!

I've so conditioned my girls. Wish I hadn't so much... but I love the attention they give me. I know, ego ego ego. But what a lovely thing it is to hear the egg song when someone else is laying, I think it's just a kindness thing. Haaaaaaa. I'm with you, our girls will be sent away if we're found out. Not to mention all the hatchlings that are coming in the very very very near future. Shhhhhhhhhh, it's our secret.

 

[ricachica]

I'm sorry you feel bad for asking. I was this close to asking the same question and in the same way, so don't apologize! You saved me the trouble What do you do to "quiet them down"? My neighbor suggested squirting water from a water bottle. If I toss some food in, that will quiet them down, but they will start up later for no reason, at any time of day or evening, and I don't want to be tossing in food so they are rewarded for squawking. My husband suggested marking the one that is squawking so much, but I fear if I get rid of her, another will pick it up where she left off.

 

[Cori A]

Thanks all for the responses!

I appreciate all the input! @ Fred's Hens I really liked your response that some hens are just louder than others and you can try to replace the noisier ones with quieter ones to try for a quieter flock, but it may or may not work. That makes total sense. Yes, I agree, just like there are neurotic dogs, neurotic cats and neurotic people there are neurotic chickens. The loudest bird in my flock was getting louder and louder and her behavior was more nervous than the rest. She stopped going in the coup for the night, even when the rest would and she would never eat when I threw food down, even though everyone else did. She reminded me of a few skittish dogs I used to groom.

I know people say to bribe your neighbors with eggs, but I really don't know some of the neighbors well enough to give them eggs. I also don't want to point out that it's me who has chickens. My good neighbors just figured out the noise was coming from my backyard after 6 months. They thought it was coming from down the street. They finally took a walk to find out where it was coming from. I gave them some eggs.

I agree, I listen to cars with loud radios, loud motorcycles, incessant dog barking, kids screaming, parties, leaf blowers early Saturday mornings, etc... No one should complain about my chickens, but... none of their noises are illegal. I currently live in SW Florida.

I like the advice to give treats and stimulation. I have been doing that and I agree it helps. I breed earthworms and I always throw a pile of dirt filled with earthworms for them to scratch in. They love rice and oatmeal, so I sprinkle it all over the yard to eat. I also pick weeds and throw them to them. I hang heads of cabbage and bunches of greens for them eat. I also cut avocados and cantaloupes in half and put them on the ground. I am also currently breeding superworms for them. They are almost big enough. They also love handfuls of grapes, love to watch them do the grape chase. I'm pretty sure I trained them to be noisy to get me to come feed them. LOL Although, I don't mind their chicken "feed ME! whine", I don't think that noise travels as far as the egg song.

So, this morning we brought two of our girls to their new home. I felt really sad,and my kids were really sad. Honestly I only wanted to get rid of the one, but I thought it was kinder to send her with a familiar friend. So I picked the second loudest one to go. When we got there my kids had lots of questions for the new owner. When we saw how big her property was and how kindly she treated the girls, we knew they were in good hands. She called them by their names and was so loving to them. She has chickens and goats and turkeys. The area where my girls will be able to roam is probably a hundred times bigger than where I have them. They will truly be free ranged chickens. She even feeds them organic and said we could come visit them anytime. It was bittersweet.

Our second trip today was to the farm to get a few more chickens to soften the blow of our loss. I asked the farmer if he thought the buff orpingtons were quiet and he pretty much said what most of you said, it depends on the bird. He did say the orpingtons are generally a more mellow breed. He was low on orpingtons because all his energy is going into turkeys right now. He had one that was almost laying age maybe 4 months old, and in a separate cage he had four orpingtons, two were about 3 months old and two were about 2 months old. He said they would all be fine together. So I took the 4 month old and two of the 3 month olds. Now I am wishing I would have gotten three from the same cage because even though they are all very close in size and they are sticking together, away from my girls, the 4 month old is pecking the smaller ones. I didn't have enough space to separate them all for the night, so I waited until almost dark to put them away and put the 4 month old in with the big chickens and the two smaller ones in a dog crate. The 4 month old kept trying to roost with my girls, but they kept pecking her off. So I put some hay on top of the hutch that is in the cage with them and she settled down up there. I will get up just before daylight tomorrow so I can let them out before they have a chance to pick on her. Wish I made a better decision, I knew this would happen, just as I know they will all eventually get along. But not before I spend a few days worrying like crazy and checking them a hundred times a day.

Okay, so if you are still reading this novel, I will let you know how it goes with the noise level and if anyone takes over where the noisy girls left off. Hopefully we will have a little bit quieter flock.

 

[Danielle27]

I hope the integration goes smoothly. Good luck!

 

[2greenboyz]

x2 So sad to read the bittersweet part but I hope it all turns out for the better. Thanks for the update.

 

[Cori A]

Hi All, I just wanted to update anyone who was following this thread. It is now 4 months since I re-homed my noisy girls, who by the way are very loved in their new home and I get updates frequently! The three buff orpingtons that I added to the flock have integrated nicely and everyone is laying. I can honestly say the noise level is 90 percent better than it was. Yes there are days here and there that I have to go out a couple of times and throw them some food to quiet them down, but it is infrequent and they actually do quiet down when I go out. I can't tell you how much less stressful things are. I really enjoy my chickens now and don't worry that I am bothering the neighbors. With the noisy girls I was filled with stress every day for hours, not only were they noisy but they worked everyone else up. I was just about ready to give up on keeping chickens. Now I truly enjoy my girls!! Thanks everyone for the advice and support!!!