The dulcet noises that issue forth from chickens....

[St-Hubert]

I am loving the various whistling that issues forth from our three 5-week olds and two week-and-a-halfers. From the simple "peeping" of the youngin's up to the trills, 'sqwaks', and almost-cooing we are hearing now. My wife and I enjoy spending time with both sets just to hear what they are going to come up with next.

I'm wondering when they start clucking? Is that something that will start when they begin laying eggs, or when they start reaching an older age? I haven't done as much research as I could have done, but mostly because I wanted to hear personal experiences on this.

Thanks for humouring me!

 

[esthermgr]

I'm wondering the same thing

 

[BigSkyChickens]

I found the transition from peeps to bawks very interesting last year. I think it was shortly before they started laying that the voices started changing.

Each individual chicken was different in their development. I remember my buff cochin specifically doing a "peep, peep, bawk" sequence at about 4 months old. My blue wyandotte had a really funny, high-pitched Mariah Carey song until she was almost 7 months old, then she started clucking & bucking. My blue cochin had a really funny peep/honk from 4 months old until she finally started laying at 11 months old. The speckled sussex gave us the most laughs - at 5 months old she sounded like she had smoked too many cigarettes.

Enjoy the chick peeps & twitters, they will not last forever!

 

[gryeyes]

It's a gradual thing, but they'll sound more like chickens long before they start to lay. And the incredible variety of sounds they make, too! Mumbling, grumbling, happy little buk-buks, an out and out Cluck! now and then, and finally, the Egg Song.

It's not very musical, that Egg Song, but once you hear it, you know that's what it is! Buk-buk-buk-BAWK! BAWK! Buk buk buk.

One of my hens also "trills" - a very satisified, happy sound.

At night in the coop, they have all sorts of conversations as they settle down for the night. You can almost imagine what they're saying: Buffy get off my foot! Oh, did you see what Matilda did today? Can I sit here next to you tonight? Get your wing out of my face! Wasn't that cabbage the best thing ever? Is that a spider in that corner? Yes, that's a spider in that corner! It's MY spider, it's MY spider! Hey, you're in MY spot - move over or get down! Is that dog barking again?

 

[St-Hubert]

Yep....definitely looking forward to the egg song!
Thank you both for your experiences! This is going to be fun!
I'm going to have to remember to keep lots of fresh batteries on hand for the video camera.

 

[flgardengirl]

They make the contented clucking sound when they are older, especially when they are eating or just real happy. I noticed when mine were little that they would make the trilling sound when they were settling down to go to sleep. If you blow raspberries at them (the noise you make with your tongue) sometimes they will trill back at you. It is really cute. I do it sometimes and they calm right down and act like they want to go to sleep. It worked better with the ones I incubated and hatched out myself if I started doing it from a few days old. I have had them totally running around and hyper and 'blew raspberries' and they sat right down to go to sleep and starting trilling away back at me lol.