Sadness: my chickens aren't working out

[JPchicken]

Hello friends,

Last summer, we got our first chickens with high hopes.... alas, a year later, they've gotten into a stubborn habit of screaming every morning from 5am-7am. They have quite the spacious chicken compound, yet appear to be demanding to forage with these awful, incessant screams. We had/have the following breeds: ee, br, bo, NHred, ba, ss, welsummer, delaware.

To make a long story shorter, half of the flock have been rehomed to a farm, and the other half might sadly be following them soon.

Question: would bantams be a possibility for us? Or will we find ourselves in the same situation even with miniature models?

Thank you!
JP

 

[rayrose]

How many chickens did you have? Looks like a small coop.
They probably view your vegetable garden and want at it.

 

[orloffer]

I have indeed heard some people say that bantams are quieter, but in my experience they are not any less talkative--they simply make higher-pitched noises.

 

[JPchicken]

The coop itself is 6×6, the attached run is 6x12, the smaller chain link is 8x12, the larger chain link more than triples the total size.... sooooo approx 400 square feet.

 

[JPchicken]

How many chickens did you have? Looks like a small coop.
They probably view your vegetable garden and want at it.

They want to get into the rest of the yard.... but this is not possible as it is not fenced in. But knowing the reason doesn't necessarily solve this problem.

 

[aart]

Had you ever let them range?
Just keep them locked up, they'll get over it.
Don't come out and make them try to stop, they'll just have you trained.
Some birds are very vocal.

 

[JPchicken]

Had you ever let them range?
Just keep them locked up, they'll get over it.
Don't come out and make them try to stop, they'll just have you trained.
Some birds are very vocal.

At this point, screaming is a habit with this flock. Letting them "scream it out" is not possible in our neighborhood. My question was whether bantams carry on at the same decible level as standard hens.