squawking chicken

[beekeeperNcoop]

I have a squawk box chicken. It seems to be getting worse. I'm about to give her away knowing this person has no problem butchering her chickens. I cannot take the LOUD squawking and when she does not get what she wants, it gets worse, louder and more angry. It reminds me when I was little and did not get what I wanted. I have been trying to throw water at her. I do not give her food or free range time until she has stopped squawking because I do not want to encourage the behavior. I was thinking about a no crow collar.
Any thoughts. It may seem mean but I can't take it much longer. I live a very peaceful life and work from home.
Thank you,
Moay

 

[GitaBooks]

Welcome to BYC!

Yep, hens can be louder then roosters! That squawking is called the "egg song" its a sound almost all hens will make some time or another before or after they lay an egg. Its obnoxious, and some hens do it more then others. All and all, I don't think there is any training you can do to stop it, though a no-crow collar may help.

Best of luck!

 

[aart]

Not all squawking is the 'egg song'....hens have many different vocalizations and yes, they can get very loud.

Do not withhold feed...and I don't think throwing water at her is going to do any good either.

Describe your flock, coop and run and maybe we can offer some suggestions.

 

[donrae]

sounds to me like you simply don't like this bird. I'd say absolutely sell her off. I see no reason to keep her if she's this annoying to you. I've had animals over the years I just didn't get along with, they didn't stay long as a rule.

 

[mirandaleecon]

I agree with the above responses, if you aren't happy with her, find her a new home. As far as the water and withholding food/free range; I can only imagine these things would make the situation worse. I don't believe (some may disagree) that chickens have the mental capacity to make the connection that their chatter is the reason you are doing those things.
I don't know much about her situation but I would guess either she is new to egg laying and more vocal due to the influx of hormones or something in her environment is making her unhappy. I would say, give her freedom/food/loving care and it should level out. Or maybe she is just noisy...

 

[beekeeperNcoop]

First thank you for all the responses. Let me clear one thing up; I don't withhold feeding her it's just that when she is squawking I make sure not to give them anything extra at that time I do not want her to encourage the squawking. There are times that she squawks just before snack time. In the Morning when she is noisy I have started ringing a bell then throw water at or near her. Now I just ring the bell and she tries to hide herself. I do think it has helped.( Pavlov's dog/Chicken)


The pen has just been completed 10x15 with a solid roof. The coop is a beautiful old stone shed which she likes to sleep in the the rafters. She was having a difficult time getting down from the rafters and now has a ramp in place. She even has her own nesting box in the rafters.
Things may get better with the new pen/ coop set up because they are out at 7am now instead of 9-9:30. Because of a fox in the am I kept the girls cooped longer than I or they wanted. I do free range the girls from 11 to 7.
My girls were born in Oct she is an Australorp.

Today was much better I did not even have to ring the bell. It may be because of the changes to the coop with a new ramp for her to come down from the rafters and a new nesting box in the rafters for her.
Who knows? She also has been molting and I heard it can be painful. I've increased their protein because of a decrease within their bodies of protein during this time. Like my bees it's all been an adventure.
I'm not giving up on her yet and will continue to love on her.
Thank you,
Moay

 

[GitaBooks]

First thank you for all the responses. Let me clear one thing up; I don't withhold feeding her it's just that when she is squawking I make sure not to give them anything extra at that time I do not want her to encourage the squawking. There are times that she squawks just before snack time. In the Morning when she is noisy I have started ringing a bell then throw water at or near her. Now I just ring the bell and she tries to hide herself. I do think it has helped.( Pavlov's dog/Chicken)


The pen has just been completed 10x15 with a solid roof. The coop is a beautiful old stone shed which she likes to sleep in the the rafters. She was having a difficult time getting down from the rafters and now has a ramp in place. She even has her own nesting box in the rafters.
Things may get better with the new pen/ coop set up because they are out at 7am now instead of 9-9:30. Because of a fox in the am I kept the girls cooped longer than I or they wanted. I do free range the girls from 11 to 7.
My girls were born in Oct she is an Australorp.

Today was much better I did not even have to ring the bell. It may be because of the changes to the coop with a new ramp for her to come down from the rafters and a new nesting box in the rafters for her.
Who knows? She also has been molting and I heard it can be painful. I've increased their protein because of a decrease within their bodies of protein during this time. Like my bees it's all been an adventure.
I'm not giving up on her yet and will continue to love on her.
Thank you,
Moay

Birds are smart, I bet she could learn, and your techinques sound good.

She will probably be quieter during the winter also.

Best of luck!

 

[Jesusfreak101]

Ok queston totally off topic but about beekeeping, i have a two year old and a baby on the way good ideal or bad ideal? I really would like to keep bees if i can i just want to make sure it wouldnt be a bad ideal. I have every ideal as to section off the area from my kids with a fence just to keep them out of the hive.

 

[aart]

Deleted rude rant.

 

[aart]

First thank you for all the responses. Let me clear one thing up; I don't withhold feeding her it's just that when she is squawking I make sure not to give them anything extra at that time I do not want her to encourage the squawking. There are times that she squawks just before snack time. In the Morning when she is noisy I have started ringing a bell then throw water at or near her. Now I just ring the bell and she tries to hide herself. I do think it has helped.( Pavlov's dog/Chicken)


The pen has just been completed 10x15 with a solid roof. The coop is a beautiful old stone shed which she likes to sleep in the the rafters. She was having a difficult time getting down from the rafters and now has a ramp in place. She even has her own nesting box in the rafters.
Things may get better with the new pen/ coop set up because they are out at 7am now instead of 9-9:30. Because of a fox in the am I kept the girls cooped longer than I or they wanted. I do free range the girls from 11 to 7.
My girls were born in Oct she is an Australorp.

Today was much better I did not even have to ring the bell. It may be because of the changes to the coop with a new ramp for her to come down from the rafters and a new nesting box in the rafters for her.
Who knows? She also has been molting and I heard it can be painful. I've increased their protein because of a decrease within their bodies of protein during this time. Like my bees it's all been an adventure.
I'm not giving up on her yet and will continue to love on her.
Thank you,
Moay

Sounds like you're making progress, sorry about the misunderstanding about withholding food.

Molting can cause crankiness for sure and the change with the ramp both could cause her vocal complaining.