Quiet Hens

[AmyAnnette]

I need to know what breed of hens are considered the quietiest. Our neighbor's master bedroom windows are where we were planning to put the chicken shed.
Any suggestions?

 

[CarriBrown]

Sorry... I'm just thinking of all the strange noises that come from my yard...
I think it just depends on the bird. The smallest chicken I have makes the biggest racket. I think I really only have one "quiet" chicken.

 

[Llysse]

You might consider looking at Henderson's Chicken Breed Chart here: http://www.ithaca.edu/staff/jhenderson/chooks/chooks.html I see that Australorps, Belgian D'Uccle and Polish are listed as quiet birds, although I don't have any personal experience with them.

 

[Llysse]

I should add that the more important having a quiet bird is to you, the more likely it is you'll get the LOUD exception to your chosen breed...!

 

[CarriBrown]

My loudest is Sasha, a Mille Fleur D'Uccle (Belgian D'Uccle). She sqwacks about EVERYTHING.

 

[silkiechicken]

I don't know if hens are that loud... I don't think my hens make very much noise at all... I have one bared rock, one RIR, two black sex links, one gold sex link, a silkie, and a pair of leghorns. Then again... I do have too many roosters. (5) and they are the only one's I hear at times if I pay attention. Maybe I'm going deaf.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

My girls are mostly quiet. A few are noisier than others and I can't find a consistency between them. I'm sure some breeds tend to be louder than others, but as mentioned above, there are individual differences as well.

My girls make the most noise when:

1) They just laid an egg
2) They want to lay an egg and someone else is in their "special nest box"
3) There is a cat lurking about

Other than that it is mostly quiet with a bit of clucking here and there.

 

[CarriBrown]

Quote:
Don't forget number 4) Their friend just laid an egg.

 

[Nifty-Chicken]

Quote:
Totally true!

 

[urbanagrarian]

Orpingtons have always seemed a little quieter to me. My noisiest hen is a black sex-link, but I'm not sure it's the case for others of her breed.

In summer when the sun comes up early I sometimes cover the window in the coop when I close the hens up for the night to help reduce early morning clucking. it's not foolproof, but I do think it helps.

Joan
http://urban-agrarian.blogspot.com/