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Don't you eyeball me, chicken!
Since the hens began laying they have gone from quiet pullets to gabby girls. The racket begins in late morning and continues intermittently until around noon, while the laying is going on.
BawkbawkbawkbawkbawkbawkBAWKAW!!
By midday the hubbub has subsided and they go back to their quiet selves, but I can’t help but cringe wondering if a neighbor somewhere is building up a head of steam.
I know the amount of cackling pales in comparison to the din of lawn mowers, leaf blowers, car alarms, yapping dogs, and the like, but it’s the unusual-ness of the sound that makes ears perk up. Suburbanites have become inured to the typical suburban sounds and we tune them out, or at least we know the futility of trying to do something to change them. I worry that the suburban mindset, perhaps subconsciously geared to challenge the atypical, will balk at the noise of hens at laying time and I will get a visit or a dreaded notice from the city.
It’s on my agenda to visit the neighbor closest to, and therefore most likely affected by, the racket. They seem to keep to themselves, however, and I keep putting it off. So who’s the chicken here anyway, huh?
A basket of fresh eggs, a loaf of bread, an explanation, and an invitation to visit the hens is what I plan. Help get me off my tush and over there, folks.
Oh, and please tell me that your hens got quieter after they had been laying for a while . . . ?
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Um… no. They just like to brag. Or, alternatively, they are screeching: OhmybuttmybuttmybuttmyBUTT! Sorry, it doesn’t seem to get any better.
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D, I work for Dave Harris. Was wondering if you needed any egg cartons. I have about 7 of then if you want them. Let me know. Otherwise, I’ll throw them away. Great story, by the way!
No matter whether you’re young or old, it remains the same. The longer you put off something dreaded, the more dreaded it becomes in your mind. Rip it off like a bandage and take it like a (wo)man, TL. Knowing beats wondering any day of the week!
The peace offering to the neighbor ought to do the trick. I’ve never owned chickens, so I don’t know anything about the noise level. I really can’t blame your chickens for being noisy, though. When you consider the size of a chicken and the size of an egg, I’d probably squawk too
I know for a fact that I squawked A LOT when I had my son!
You can do it! When I move into a new neighborhood I try and get the courage to visit the neighbors with some goodies in my hands and it helps with the awkward moment of “hi, I live next door and….”. Chances are your neighbors are just as ‘chicken’ to come up to you and ask to see your pretty laying ladies.
You never know, T.L. — they may ENJOY hearing your ladies go about their business. I agree that getting to know your neighbors and your ideas of being “neighborly” are on target. So gather some eggs for them and march on over!
I don’t know whether your neighbors are bothered or what other suggestions to give on the matter, but I just had to say:
Doesn’t it crack you up that they do that? Like they’re newly surprised every day. Every day there’s an egg, and every day they act like, “Oh my goodness!! An egg!! I’ll bet no one’s ever done THAT before!”
I have no idea of the noise level, either. Do you think it is noisier than having dogs next door who bark incessantly? I think I’d prefer the hens; knowing that at least they’re doing something useful?!
I TOTALLY did something similar, I went to my 4 closest neighbors in our HOA and and brought gifts of fresh garden veggies a couple of times this summer as an apology for how horrible our front yard looked (as all extra time was spent in the backyard garden). However we are chickens where our chickens are concerned, we have them despite city ordinances to the contrary (they are not enforced) and I am off the mindset of “what noise… I don’t hear any noise?”
At least it’s during the day. Our rooster crowed at night starting about 3 a.m. & continuing until around noon. We hoped to get used to it but gave up after a week. He now lives on a farm with some lady friends.
I’ve found that I can distract our hens when they’re being a little too noisy by tossing them a few scraps from the compost, digging a small hole in the ground, or just going out and “talking” to them. Also, if you take away the egg they just laid, they seem to forget what they were going on about.
I can’t decide if they’re closer to dogs or four year old kids in their distractability.
Just keep load of ‘peace offerings’ at the door. They don’t stop. Ever.
I worry about this if we are to get hens. I wonder just how loud it will sound at the neighbors house.
they definately do like to brag, although the pain level has certainly crossed my mind some days…we say that eggs are small, medium, and ouch!
My hens are loud if I keep them in their coop/run area. But if I let them out to roam freely about my yard, they are very quiet for the entire day. After they lay an egg, they will squawk for about 5 minutes and then go right back to foraging and roaming free. In contrast, if I leave the coop/run area closed up the entire day, they get bored and will spend most of the day squawking in protest.
I think chickens naturally are foragers and roamers. They do not like being “cooped up.” Have you tried letting them out to roam freely?
My hens are noisy as ever, but it’s probably just because the roosters won’t let them peck in peace, they insist on chasing them around.
Oh, and to answer your question…. no, my hens never got any quieter as they aged. They are now about 14 months old and have been laying for 9 months.
Sorry…it never ends…Didn’t you see “Chicken Run”?hehehe
Yes, they may be quieter if left to roam, but still, they will be noisy. Well…hens will be hens…
ps.:
Share some eggs with the neighbors…Everybody enjoys some freebies.
Wish I could tell you they get quieter.. but it just aint so!
Every time I even open my backdoor they start up. If I return in the car and come through the gate … the start up. One in particular, a speckled hamburg hen sounds like some strange mystery bird from an island far far away lol.
Hopefully the eggs and loaf of bread will do the trick. I asked each of my neighbors and they all (thankfully) replied that they hardly ever hear them, but when they do, they LOVE it. I live right downtown, and even though hens are allowed, if someone made a complaint I know there would be troubles.
What I love though, is that I can hear my neighbors hens, 5 doors down, and I smile cause I know that sound means she has healthy delicious eggs on the way
The don’t quiet down. Around here when a hen lays and egg, she announces it to everyone. “I laid an egg, I laid and egg, I laid an egg!”
Then all of the other hens have to talk about it. “She laid an egg, she laid an egg, she laid an egg!”
Hope your neighbors are okay with it. Fresh eggs ought to help. Unless they are allergic to eggs.
Solve your problems and move next to me!!! Chickens are cool!
My neighbors love the sounds of my chickens. Something about the agrarian nature of it in such an unexpected place. Let’s face it, suburbia evokes a lot of stereotypical thinking, alienation being the biggest attributable quality. Your many respondents are correct: baking that bread and a half dozen eggs with a friendly knock on the door is a great neighborhood builder. Also, I have found that when I am really nervous about extending myself I remember it is not about me but about making them feel comfortable. That should do it! Good luck.
Personally I say sod the neighbours…your hens are obviously happy and healthy and proud to let everyone know it. For the times of day they are being noisy no-one complaining would get anywhere anyway so just carry on enjoying your luxury eggs. Just up the road from me a man has hens, ducks, geese, cockerels and sheep…personally for me it is lovely to hear them at all times of day…so much nice than the artificial ear-piercing sounds I have to listen to when I visit the town!!
Also, it’s possible your neighbors aren’t even home at the hours your hens are spouting off. A word of caution, if you decide to let your hens roam freely as I do: I have lost one hen to a neighborhood dog who escaped his fenced-in yard. He just grabbed her and ate almost all of her. I will probably lose more hens in the future, but it’s a tradeoff. There are many benefits to free-roaming hens. The eggs are more nutritious (they eat a variety of insects and weeds that can’t be replicated in a coop enviro), the hens are happier and quieter, they spread their fertilizer all over my property instead of concentrating it in one spot, the flies stay under control, and the hens do a great job of keeping weeds under control.
Somewhere on the next street over someone owns a rooster. I love hearing him! I don’t hear the chickens at all. As we walk my son to school, we pass two or three houses that have chickens. We always stop to listen and see them if we can. They are wonderful! We live in a city, just on the outskirts of downtown.
No, they don’t get quieter. But it’s sort of a pleasant sound…maybe that’s just because I’m IN the house with a 9, 5, 3, and 2 YO and the chickens sound blissfully happy and relatively quiet. ; ) They crack me up because they brag not only about their own egg, but about their “sisters’” eggs as well. And they’re quiet at night, unlike the neighbors’ dogs.
I think of my ducks as my “alarm clock”. They start quacking to be let out of their pen once the sun starts coming over the horizon (come on, y’all, it’s not even daylight yet!). So, I rush on outside to let them out before they make too much noise. Still, it is A LOT better than the neighbor’s dog who barks all night and wakes me up.
My girls can be NOISY! In our case it’s because somebody is hogging the preferred laying box. No matter how much I freshen the others with fresh straw, they all want to lay in the same place. If you throw some canned corn over the fence they’ll hush up for awhile. Ours are conditioned – when they hear the sliding door open they think food is on the way so they start the ruckus.
I would definitely get over to the neighbors with some eggs – pronto! You don’t want another battle like with the goats, do you?
I’m cracking up as I read this last post. We aquired 2 australorp, 2 buff orps, 2 barred rock and 2 Easter eggers 2 weeks AFTER you received yours. See I wasn’t brave enough to order them till after you did! Hey if Tomato Lady can do it, I’ll give it a try well……. I watched when yours started laying and to the day (2 weeks later) so did ours! BUT THE FUSS THEY MAKE lol , Hubby cringes in fear (we live in the city) of neighbors complaining. The australorps seem to make the most noise so far, and like others said placating with treats at ” high noise” seems to help. Also gifting the neibs with fresh eggs definately seems to work
They never get any quieter, sorry. If you have an over-abundance of eggs, your neighbors might want to purchase a few fresh ones, and the sound they make is free advertising.
I laughed so hard when I read this post! You said all the things I’ve been thinking lately. We have 4 hens, live in an HOA neighborhood and poultry is forbidden. When my girls get going, one of us is running out there trying to quiet them down. I think I need another laying box because they yell when someone else is in it.
They also squawk when they get separated from each other, which I think is kind of sweet.
My neighbors have never complained, but I asked their permission before I got the chickens. And today we delivered some eggs to them since all 4 of my girls are laying now! Woohoo!!
Thanks for the entertaining post and keep up the good work!
Bearing gifts sounds like a great way to explain the chicken noise. Personally, I would be thrilled to receive a basket of eggs and a loaf of bread!
Um, I’m no expert (my neighborhood doesn’t allow chickens – bummer.), but I would think that I would make lots of strange noises if I were laying an egg, too.
I was just thinking this exact same thing as I walked my dog yesterday morning. I could hear the hens squawking from a tenth of a mile away! Luckily, we have no neighbors closer than a mile away, but it made me wonder whether there’s really any point in shutting roosters out of urban homesteads to cut down on noise. Hens can be just as loud!!
I just discovered your blog today, and I consider it several kinds of awesome. As to the noise, I probably wouldn’t mind it, especially if fresh eggs were included in the bargain
. I live in an apartment complex, but I dream of being partly self-sufficient in suburbia one day, including the keeping of chickens.
My younger ones ARE noisier, if that helps! Love, love the photo and caption at the top of this post! Thanks for all the insightful blogging-I gave you a “Happy 101″ award over on my little blog this week because your blog inspires me!
Thank you for this post! I was freaking out this morning because all three of my girls were being more annoying and loud than normal (and normal is still disconcerting) and was searching the internet for answers. (As I type they are bwakawking!) I can see now that I cannot stop the ruckus, so I guess I will need to do the same thing and talk with our neighbors.
One of the neighbors is great, but I am ashamed to admit that I have never in the 5 years we have lived here talked with the other neighbor about anything. I am definitely nervous about that chat….
Thanks again for your post and for all subsequent posts!
Ashley–In the time since I wrote this post I am happy to report that they have settled down a little. Also, I’ve found that if they have feed waiting for them first thing in the morning, they seem less bawky. I put some feed out at night in a pan after they have gone to roost (because I don’t get up as early as they do!) and they see the food and forgo their early morning hollering and go straight out to peck around.
Also, I spoke with my closest neighbor and she was fine with it. She seems to like the “farm” atmosphere, besides they done make as much noise as her dog and I imagine she’s happy to compromise!
I’ve got 3 hens. When I kept them cooped up at night, they use to raise hell in the morning till I let them out. I was just trying to keep them safe from the neighborhood cats, but they’re bigger now and not such easy targets. Now I just give them the run of the yard, day or night, and generally the only noise I hear is an occasional cackle, a demand for food, or egg “announcement”.
This morning was a little different. We’ve got a raccoon hanging out looking for eats. The dog keeps him in the trees, but that’s been a pain because he’s out to do his dirty work in the middle of the night. I expect to trap and relocate him. (He’s just a young’n)
I don’t know what the deal was with the chickens THIS morning though. Loud cackling at 5 am. Not all three chickens. Just one making all the noise. I tossed them some chicken feed, which usually shuts them up, but one just just kept on making noise. I finally had to go out, chase the trouble-maker down and lock her in the coop. Hint: Chickens get very quiet if you squeeze their necks hard enough! And they seem to get the message: Shut up, or you’re dinner!
After I’d locked up the first hen, a second decided to get into the act. So I chased that one down and tossed her in the coop. The third hen wasn’t giving me any trouble, so she’s still running around the yard doing what chickens do.
I’m seriously considering whether to get rid of the chickens in any case. Despite all the anthropomorphous comments on this board, I’ve never observed anything that gives even the most remote indication that chickens have any intelligence beyond the ability not to suffocate in their own drool. They really are the dumbest creatures I’ve ever encountered. (Okay, I raised earthworms for a while, so maybe that’s not strictly true.)
Regards noise and the neighbors – I asked if the chickens bothered them , and they said, “No’ — chiefly because they were used to living on a larger tract of land where everything from turkeys to deer used to cross through at night. But if the answer is ever, “Yes”, the chickens are gone. On the plus side, they are aggressive with insects, turn the compost pile aggressively, provide entertainment for the dog (she likes to catch them and carry them around the yard – the chickens aren’t scared of her, but you can tell they get annoyed.), and of course, they lay eggs. On the downside, the noise, the mess and the fact that there’s nothing green in my back yard anymore is a bit irritating. The more sleep-deprived I get, the closer they get to the pot.
I have read all these posts as my chickens squark in the back ground. Two hours now and its sunday morning. So I ran out to collect the eggs as someone suggested taking them away and there’s not one egg there. So why all the noise??
Paula–I feel your pain. I wish I had the answer for you. Is this typical for them, or a one-time thing? Is this their first year laying? I’m thinking if this is an unusual event, maybe they were squawking at a predator or something scared them. If they are new birds, I would say that in my experience with my hens, they were noisier their first Spring as adult birds. They have calmed down considerably since that first laying time, but there did seem to be a lot more “discussion” about laying when they were new to it all. And sometimes when a bird sounds like she’s done her laying for the day, I go out there and it was much ado about nothing and she lays her egg later. Hang in there, I predict it will get better.
We bought 3 baby pullets 2 days ago. Right now they are in the house until the snow melts. Poor cookie this morning is upset because she was hungry. Now that she is fed, she still can’t calm herself down. I’m already in love with our babies and I can not wait for the eggs. I’m very surprised how quickly the pullets warmed up to us. They love being pet and talked to. Most of all, they love my homemade bread. Luckily our neighbors are spaced apart. I doubt they would hear the chickens from our house. We are allowed 7 chickens, including roosters. I hope they don’t get too noisy in the house the next few weeks. I’m not sure the heating lamp is warm enough for the babies outside. They are still so tiny.
We put a radio in our garage where the chickens live. It cals and quiets them and drowns out whatever noise they do make. Since we live in a borough that doens’t allow chickens, this is really important! Works like a charm! Good luck.
Catherine–Nice. I like this. I don’t know why I never thought of this, almost all the stables I’ve ever visited use radios for the horses. Great idea.
This made me laugh out loud! Most mornings, including this one, it’s not the alarm clock that wakes me . It’s the happy squawking of my eight layers in the side yard. I live in a densely populated area so, I try to keep the girls quiet in the early hours of the day. Which means, most mornings, my neighbors get to see me running out to the coop in my nightgown clutching treats(bribes). Corn on the cob is my ladies favorite and will keep them happily munching for hours.
I’ve got not quite 8 week old chickens. So far not much noise unless I come out with spinach. Thanks for all the tips. The plan is to let them yard-range once they get big enough. I put a radio in the hen house (they are being raised there for now, it will be for laying later on) playing classical music. They seem to like it.
i had this problem. and before i got the hens i went door to door to get the OK from neighbors…i guess they changed there mind when they called the city about my loud backyard hens. i have found different breeds really make a difference. buff orpington, and black australorp are LOUD. barred rock however only cackle for about 5 minutes after they lay… so its been about a year since the new batch of ‘secret’ hens came and no complaints.
I think I have had a breakthrough! As I mentioned on July 13th, I was also having loud girl problems. Your insight definitely helped – making sure that they had their food ready to go first thing was imperative. Since my post, I had acquired 4 more little girls, making 7 chickens. At the time, I was letting them all out of their coop and run, and between the running around sqwacking their heads off and the new girls laying eggs in every part of the yard imaginable and/or not roosting in their coop at night, I’d had enough. I consulted my local chicken expert, and he said that I had to coop them all up and leave them in the coop.
Well….I felt awful about it, and built them a larger run and then did the deed. At first it was pretty dramatic. The older girls beat up the younger girls like crazy to establish the packing order that they’d been avoiding the entire time. They were crazy and loud and sounded like they were all going to die. And the first few nights were a chore to get the new girls to learn how to use their ladder…lol. BUT…after a few days they all got the hand of living, laying, and roosting together. And the best part? They are about 10 times more quiet now! They still brag about their eggs sometimes, but nothing like they used to. I am pretty sure that a big part of their freak outs before were them trying to find their counterparts in the ‘big ol’ yard’ after they had gone back to the coop to lay.
Not sure if others have run into this, but had to share. They have been generally cooped together for about 3 months and it is great. I let them out in the yard occasionally in the afternoon after most of them are done laying their eggs, and they all go home on their own at night now. It’s like a whole new flock!
Hope this helps others…Thanks again! This has been a great forum for this issue!
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