Should I remove whining and crying chickens from my flock?

[JuliaSunshine]

I have 10 Light Sussex pullets and 1 cockerel who are 21 weeks old and free range all day long.
A few of the pullets whine and cry a lot and I'm wondering if it's a personality thing or them being on the bottom of the pecking order.

For instance, one or two pullets cry loudly from 6am until I let them out. I wonder if the crying ones are the lowest on the pecking order.
The coop (48 square feet, 6 feet tall) might be a bit tight for 11 of them and they tend to peck each other in the coop more than outdoors.
If I remove those who cry from the flock, will the rest stay quiet or someone become the next bottom chicken and start crying while in the coop?

Another instance is when I give them treats or fill up the feeder.
A few pullets can't eat the feed or treats right away because others peck and chase them away. So they stay away from the food and keep whining loudly (there's enough feed left for them after all though).
So if I remove those that cry from the flock, will everybody stay quiet? Or again, will the chickens that become the lowest be chased away and start crying?
I'm very sensitive to noise so it's a bit too much for me to hear their whining all day long.
I wish I had built the coop farther away from my living space but it's not possible to move it now.
How can I have a quieter flock?

 

[Tonyroo]

Use multiple feeding and watering stations. Also I've never known Sussex to be a quiet breed.

 

[rosemarythyme]

x2 on adding more feed stations, that should help with the food issues.

If you're hoping for an entirely quiet flock, it's unlikely to happen - hens/pullets often sing when they lay, your cockerel will probably crow, etc. Some of the noise you're hearing right now might be the pullets getting closer to point of lay.

 

[SourRoses]

Whining is related to their empty bellies OR to wanting to lay an egg and having some hangups about where they want to put it.
We get whiny layers when someone is sitting on the favorite nestbox and no one else gets to use it. They usually give up and use a less preferred box after a little bit.
We also get whiners in the early morning when they want to come out and eat breakfast / search for bugs.

A couple of our girls complain in the afternoon when they think it's time for scratch. We give it before bed so they feel satisfied and get their floofy pants where they're supposed to be.

In most cases, whining can be solved by doing what your hens command you to do. (except the nests)

But it's a fact that some breeds and individuals can have much louder voices / poor choice of tones, and that can be really annoying.
We rehomed some cream legbars that drive us nuts with their endless pre and post egg songs at horrendous screechy volume. Everything at our place was so quiet in their absence! Wonderful peace!

We didn't find Speckled Sussex too loud though.
Our Ameraucana are very talkative but they have quiet voices so it's more amusing than anything.
English Orpingtons are the quietest breed I have ever met. They talk to each other but don't seem to want anyone to listen in

 

[JuliaSunshine]

Use multiple feeding and watering stations. Also I've never known Sussex to be a quiet breed.

I'll do that. Thang you.

 

[Tonyroo]

I noticed with my own flock, when they are full they stay quiet and lounge around the yard for quite some time. Zero noise.

 

[JuliaSunshine]

x2 on adding more feed stations, that should help with the food issues.

If you're hoping for an entirely quiet flock, it's unlikely to happen - hens/pullets often sing when they lay, your cockerel will probably crow, etc. Some of the noise you're hearing right now might be the pullets getting closer to point of lay.

Yes I'll add more feed stains.
I'm okay with egg songs and crowing and you're right in that some pullets cry a lot lately because they're about to lay for the first time.
I was mainly hoping to be able to sleep longer in the morning by removing the couple of chickens that whine wanting to go out. I might have to experiment by putting some suspects away from the coop.
But it's hard to find which ones cry in the morning because as soon as they see me, they stop whining and blend in with other quiet chickens .

 

[JuliaSunshine]

Whining is related to their empty bellies OR to wanting to lay an egg and having some hangups about where they want to put it.
We get whiny layers when someone is sitting on the favorite nestbox and no one else gets to use it. They usually give up and use a less preferred box after a little bit.
We also get whiners in the early morning when they want to come out and eat breakfast / search for bugs.

A couple of our girls complain in the afternoon when they think it's time for scratch. We give it before bed so they feel satisfied and get their floofy pants where they're supposed to be.

In most cases, whining can be solved by doing what your hens command you to do. (except the nests)

But it's a fact that some breeds and individuals can have much louder voices / poor choice of tones, and that can be really annoying.
We rehomed some cream legbars that drive us nuts with their endless pre and post egg songs at horrendous screechy volume. Everything at our place was so quiet in their absence! Wonderful peace!

We didn't find Speckled Sussex too loud though.
Our Ameraucana are very talkative but they have quiet voices so it's more amusing than anything.
English Orpingtons are the quietest breed I have ever met. They talk to each other but don't seem to want anyone to listen in

I think only a couple of chickens are more anxious and loud wanting to come out in the morning. I've been wondering if it's just their personality or them being on the bottom of the pecking order. But it might be hard to find out.

Yes they get whiny when they're hungry or want some treats. In those cases most of them cry. I'm okay with the noise then as I know and why and can act accordingly.

I guess I'll need to find out which ones are the louder ones and consider rehoming them.

 

[JuliaSunshine]

I noticed with my own flock, when they are full they stay quiet and lounge around the yard for quite some time. Zero noise.

Oh yes my flock stays super quiet most of the time actually.
The problem is in the morning when they're in the coop and in the afternoon when I give them treats.
It's hard to give them the same amount of treats equally because no matter how wide I spread the treats on the ground, a few chickens get chased away by others and cry wanting to eat the treats.
The more I talk about it I might just have to be okay with them whining in this case.

 

[alwaystj9]

Have you considered an automatic door for your coop?