Silly chicken question

[KyCoop]

My girls are 11-16 wks old now and getting their big chicken voices. I have 7 different breeds. Do different breeds make different chicken sounds? I know its a silly question because they are all chickens but thats what Im hearing so far. My GWD walks around saying Boop Boop Boop and my BA sounds like a goose sometimes. I have one peeper left and its tiny Penny the SS. The only one really "clucking" is the Barnie. I know, I know Im obsessed with trying to communicate with them and learning their language.

 

[HappyClucker7]

The breed will not affect how they sound (although I know of at least one, rare exception). Each individual chicken will have it's own "voice".

 

[K0k0shka]

It's more individual, but the one thing I can think of that breed can affect is the quality of the sound, not so much the pattern. And the way sound would be affected is because of the size of the birds. Larger animals have deeper voices, it's just a matter of acoustics. I imagine a giant breed with a deep chest and wide throat would produce different sounds than a tiny bantam the size of a pigeon. In my personal sample size of 5, the Barnevelders are half the size of the English Orpingtons and their voices sound "smaller", too - higher pitch. They are all 9 months old so they've grown into their "adult voices" by now.

So, size might affect the timbre of the voice and individuals have their own variations in how exactly they say things, but the language is still the same no matter the breed, and they can all understand each other.

 

[KyCoop]

That makes sense. Like dogs. Big dogs and little dogs don't sound the same but they are both barking. I notice the difference mostly in what I call their walk around voice. When they are just walking around, pecking, looking as stuff. But they all make the same sound when they get pecked by the flock boss. The Barnie is the only one that has ever given the predator alarm so far.

 

[sourland]

They make the same basic sounds - just with different accents.

 

[K0k0shka]

That makes sense. Like dogs. Big dogs and little dogs don't sound the same but they are both barking. I notice the difference mostly in what I call their walk around voice. When they are just walking around, pecking, looking as stuff. But they all make the same sound when they get pecked by the flock boss. The Barnie is the only one that has ever given the predator alarm so far.

Yep, exactly like dogs. One of my Barnies likes to give the danger alarm, too, but only after they go to bed, from inside the coop. One of the Orpingtons is on danger duty when they're outside. And the Barnie's alarm call is super weird - with the voice at the end "stacatto" instead of continuous, to use a term from music

 

[SueT]

Mine sound different enough that I can usually recognize which individual is talking without seeing them. I also had one that honked like a goose, she was a BO. One of my Spitzhauben hens can sound like a parrot screaming, the Sebright hen squawks like an angry gull, but others have 'indoor voices' most of the time. One of the top hens only has to quietly utter a 3 syllable warning, and others let her have first dibs, or all the dibs. I have a Spitz pullet whose peeping sounds almost like a whining puppy when she's following me around asking for treats.
There was an fascinating thread--- where we entered videos of our roosters' crowing. There was a huge difference...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ooster-crowing-show-ends-on-the-28th.1291432/

 

[Sally PB]

I have three BA pullets and one BO cockerel. The BAs make a kind of whooing noise, not like an owl, but when I make the noise back, that's what I say. I've also heard an ERrrrrr ERRRrrr sort of noise. I hear "the egg song" only as an alarm. There is also a "trilling" alarm sound.

And the cockerel crows. Sometimes it's like he didn't get a full breath and it sounds very funny. I tell him he's going off half cocked.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Mine sound different enough that I can usually recognize which individual is talking without seeing them.

Same here. If one comes up behind me and starts clucking, I greet them by name and then turn around to make sure I got it right. I'm usually right.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Seems the littler the chicken, the noisier it is. My Brahma and Cochin are early silent. My Silkies are soooooo LOUD. My son says it sounds like someone is standing on their feet: "Ow ow ow ow OW OW OW OW OW OWWW OWWW OWWWWW."

Might be because their voices are higher and carry farther, but they are obnoxious. I am glad my neighbors live, like, 1/2 a mile away.