When I sit in my chicken coop with my 13 week old chickens while they go to bed, they make trilling noises and I answer them with shhhh. We do this every night and I was wondering if it means anything.Any help would be great.
I agree, it seems to be a happy sound. I hear it when they're settled into my palms, or laying on my forearm with their head nestled under my arm, or perched on my shoulder whispering it in my ear - it's almost like when a cat purrs. I've heard that roos and mother hens will make a similar sound, lower pitched and a little softer, which seems to mean "I see danger, quietly come closer to me". But the "trill" - almost like a pigeon coo, but a note higher in pitch, is definitely a happy sound.
I have a young bantam Cochin pullet who trills so much she sounds like a singing cricket so I changed her name from Merry to Cricket.