RIR is overly talkative. Can I get her to quiet down?

[homesteading101]

Tried to add a video of the birds devouring a broccoli plant but I'm unsuccessful

 

[Lyris]

She's definitely attached to me! Which is the problem. I don't think I could rehome her if I tried. When I dropped her off at her intended forever home she just sat at the gate looking for me sadly. It about broke my heart. When I got word that she wasn't doing well and went to pick her up, she was frantically running back and forth behind the fence trying to get to me. So rehoming isn't really an option.

I've had to teach all of them how to be chickens. They had no idea what treats were, they were scared of humans, they were even scared of being out of their coop. They now roam the yard freely and don't feel the need to stay close together. I've gotten them to eat treats and readily accept things I give them (they tried veggies for the first time yesterday! I was so proud of them) two weeks ago they discovered they can scratch at the dirt. That seemed shocking to them and they were obsessed with it for a while. This week they've learned to dig holes and take dirt baths. I now have big holes all over the yard. There's like ten of them, and I only have five chickens. They have also discovered they can eat the lawn and don't have to only eat their food. They now eat significantly less food and are happily eating the yard like I want them to.

Teaching them things to keep their boredom away will take a bit of work, but they seem open to new things now. The RIR thinks she belongs inside with me now. I went out earlier and she chewed me out for being in the yard and not having treats. She's even started seeing me as her rooster and squats for me. I was thinking of possibly adding a quiet rooster to see if that would help her noises (I'm getting tired of being woken up at 6am to her yelling at my window) but considering how she's acting around the ones I'm babysitting (who are in a closed off area of the yard) I don't think that's a good idea. She's definitely a challenge. I can't have her teaching the real of the flock to get sassy with me and chew me out as well. The brahma has gone from an incredibly shy and sweet girl to the loudest complainer if I don't have treats. She's getting louder with her displeasure. The Easter Egger who is also incredibly sweet is starting to pick up on the behavior and chew me out. They get very sassy and complain if I don't bring the RIGHT treats.

I just went to go check on her because it's raining. She came out of the coop to yell at me, the others yelled at me from inside the coop, and the silkies were dead center in the yard getting soaked while one dug at the ground and the other shivered. (Nevermind the warm coop they have all to themselves and don't have to share, they'll just sit and freeze to death. )

 

[RoyalChick]

I don’t know what to say. I had a RIR like that called Maggie. She was always yelling at me or just very animatedly telling me about her day.
Personally I loved it and I really miss our conversation.
Can the neighbors be bribed with free eggs to accept her for who she is?

 

[TesoroSena]

She's definitely attached to me! Which is the problem. I don't think I could rehome her if I tried. When I dropped her off at her intended forever home she just sat at the gate looking for me sadly. It about broke my heart. When I got word that she wasn't doing well and went to pick her up, she was frantically running back and forth behind the fence trying to get to me. So rehoming isn't really an option.

Teaching them things to keep their boredom away will take a bit of work, but they seem open to new things now. The RIR thinks she belongs inside with me now. I went out earlier and she chewed me out for being in the yard and not having treats. She's even started seeing me as her rooster and squats for me. I

We had a hen who had to stay inside because she was sick… we loved having her in the house, and we put a chickens diaper on her. It would give her something to do, and the diapers are normally washable. You can get them on Amazon for less that 10 bucks!

 

[homesteading101]

I brought my black sex link I named Matilda to the farmers market with a diaper and a leash she loved it. She sat there while I frantically tried to get rid of all the excess vegetables we had

 

[TesoroSena]

I brought my black sex link I named Matilda to the farmers market with a diaper and a leash she loved it. She sat there while I frantically tried to get rid of all the excess vegetables we had

We leash some of ours too! Some are fine, some hate it, but some like it!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Can the neighbors be bribed with free eggs to accept her for who she is?

x2. Might try this route, in hopes they'll look (or listen) the other way...

 

[Kung_pao]

I don’t think I’ve ever had a flock that didn’t have one that was always yelling.

 

[Lyris]

My landlord is firm about no chickens in the house or I'd let her in. If I took her on walks wouldn't that upset the status quo of the flock? Just her being gone for a day has completely changed the dynamic of the flock. The RIR kind of prefers to be left alone now and is struggling to integrate back into the flock, and the flock itself has broken into scattered groups. The groups change hour by hour though. Having the silkies aren't helping, even if they don't share the same area of the yard. I would totally take her with me on short trips if she would let me! Apparently her Big Bad attitude was all talk and no action. She's actually super insecure when things change, or if I'm not around. She's an amazing flock leader, which is another reason I don't want to get rid of her.

My neighbor is an old cranky guy who nobody gets along with. I'm usually good with older people so I'm hopeful I can make friends when I see him again. He's sweet once you get him talking about war stories!

 

[TesoroSena]

My landlord is firm about no chickens in the house or I'd let her in. If I took her on walks wouldn't that upset the status quo of the flock? Just her being gone for a day has completely changed the dynamic of the flock. The RIR kind of prefers to be left alone now and is struggling to integrate back into the flock, and the flock itself has broken into scattered groups. The groups change hour by hour though. Having the silkies aren't helping, even if they don't share the same area of the yard. I would totally take her with me on short trips if she would let me! Apparently her Big Bad attitude was all talk and no action. She's actually super insecure when things change, or if I'm not around. She's an amazing flock leader, which is another reason I don't want to get rid of her.

My neighbor is an old cranky guy who nobody gets along with. I'm usually good with older people so I'm hopeful I can make friends when I see him again. He's sweet once you get him talking about war stories!

Sounds like all the hens you rescued are unsure, and the only thing they trust right now is you. Chickens prefer to have smaller flocks, so they may break off into their own squads. It sounds also like they need a rooster, in my opinion. Do ur laws allow that?