What does this chicken squeal mean?

[providencechics]

I've had 2 chickens for a week. They are making this sort of squealing sound often. Does anyone know what it means? Are they scared? I recently set up a bigger run for them. Are they not being fed enough? I noticed lately when I toss them grower pellets, they are extremely aggressive in eating them. Maybe they're angry that their coop is dirty? Or that I used to have to catch them to put them back in their coop when they escaped? They are good at getting close to me when I'm about to feed them, but run the instant it seems like I'm going to grab them.

Here's an example. The squeal happens in the second half of the video.

 

[WiddleChix]

It's just a normal chicken noise, I don't really think it means anything I hear mine do it all the time.

 

[providencechics]

I thought so too, but as I was rebuilding their run and they were locked in their coop for a day, they made that noise a lot. Then when they were let out into their run, they stopped squealing for a day and made more normal clucking noises. But now it started again, so it makes me feel like it's an unhappy noise.

 

[lazy gardener]

You're over analyzing. Relax, and enjoy them.

 

[donrae]

Just a normal chicken sound.

Your birds should basically have feed available all day. I'm not sure how much you're feeding them, or why you're hand feeding instead of keeping it available? Just fill a feeder and leave it in the run, refill as they empty it. You may need to pull the feed out at night if you have rodents, etc, but otherwise during the day they're good to free feed.

 

[providencechics]

Oh thanks for the suggestion Donrae. I don't have a feeder so I just go out twice a day to give them food, sometimes with table scraps.

I did give them about twice as much today, and they weren't pecking as aggressively at the end of it, so I think they wanted more food.

They have a pretty nice sized coop+run of about 20 sq feet per chicken that they have access to 24/7 so I'm hoping they scrounge up whatever else they want to eat.

 

[CluckerCottage]

x2 donrae.

 

[donrae]

That sounds like a nice size area for them

but, don't count on them getting too much nutrition from that. Even with a decent size area, they'll eat every bug and plant there in a day or so, then there's nothing.

You can do searches on deep litter to encourage insect populations.

A feeder can be simply a bowl. Use a heavy bottom dish so they can't knock it over, or if all you have is a light weight bowl, put a rock or brick or something inside so they don't tip it over.

 

[providencechics]

Okay, I've started doing this more, with the rock in the bowl. They seem like hungry all the time now, so that's great. They do a lot more sitting in their butts, and less roaming, but maybe that's fine because I hope they produce eggs soon.

 

[mclanea]

Yup, they are just talking. She said, "What's with the camera?"