Mine have always been pretty quiet. They will give out a bok-bok-bokawk after laying an egg. The rest of the time they just make quiet little muttering noises, as they peck around. They pretty much spend the day searching and scratching for food, unless they're dust bathing or napping. If they see something that they're concerned about, they usually freeze and stare at it.
I wonder if some individual chickens are just noisier?
It could be that they are more stirred up from starting to lay eggs, although that hasn't been a problem for mine. Has their schedule changed at all? One woman here had trouble with her chickens being really noisy after they had to be confined more, instead of being free in the yard. Has anything changed in their environment or the neighbor's yards next to yours, that could be bothering them? Have you recently changed their food? Are your chickens penned up all the time or do they get to run around in the yard?
If they're penned all the time, it might help to give them more to do during the day, to keep them busy. Do they have a dust bath? You could try hanging some greens or veggies for them to peck at, adding a tray of gravel with seeds mixed in that they have to scratch in to find the food, that kind of thing.
I wonder if some individual chickens are just noisier?
It could be that they are more stirred up from starting to lay eggs, although that hasn't been a problem for mine. Has their schedule changed at all? One woman here had trouble with her chickens being really noisy after they had to be confined more, instead of being free in the yard. Has anything changed in their environment or the neighbor's yards next to yours, that could be bothering them? Have you recently changed their food? Are your chickens penned up all the time or do they get to run around in the yard?
If they're penned all the time, it might help to give them more to do during the day, to keep them busy. Do they have a dust bath? You could try hanging some greens or veggies for them to peck at, adding a tray of gravel with seeds mixed in that they have to scratch in to find the food, that kind of thing.
