squawking while laying

[aitchbe]

thanks all for the insight and advice!!

 

[McGoo]

I think they're tawk'n with the other gals and looking for empathy

 

[paganfish]

I also heard it was to deter enemies. I have NO idea how they theorize this. I guess they claim the chicken makes a ruckus and runs off after she lays eggs to divert any attention to them?

 

[bayouchica]

Ok. I wondered if it was just the size thing. I've added oyster shell to the feed because i was getting some eggs with barely a shell holding the egg in. Maybe I should back off a bit on the ratio? Do their vents ever "dry out"? or need moisturizing? it seems like a wierd thing to do but I don't want them to be in pain everyday.

Hi, keep the oyster shell out,they'll know when to eat it. You might want to get some black oil sunflower seeds to keep things "lubed"

Good luck

 

[HenHappy]

I always thought there was a bit of a PROUD sound in those squawks. Sort of "HEY! LOOK WHAT I DID!!! AREN'T I AWESOME???!!!

 

[Bawkadoodledoo]

you'd be yelling too if you had to push that thing out of your butt almost every day!

 

[fluffhead]

Quote:
tell this to your wife and see what she says.

 

[mullers3acers]

We have 51 hens so this calling goes on from about 8:30 am till about 11:00 am. Give or take. To me it's soothing and an awesome sound of the country.
But to the one post I had two babies and I know that I couldn't do that everyday for several years. Because twice was enough.

 

[ivan3]

It is a predator related `bawking'. The hen is telling the roo that she needs `cover' and the roo responds with a similar call that is even louder. Our roo and several hens will be out ranging down by the pond (~75yds. away) while another couple girls are in the coop laying and they'll call back and forth for 45 minutes or more.
This call and response masking of the hen's position had me reaching for the rifle (sure they were being attacked) until I began recognizing a distinct rhythm in the cacophony. This is probably the loudest our chooks ever get (the `bad thing' volume isn't quite as high).

 

[akcskye]

Have you ever heard the word "cackleberry"?

That means a chickens egg. haha

Seriously, hens do squawk (cackle) when they lay, it's a normal thing.