My eco solution to rat problems

[rosielx]

I have a pair of Lohman Brown hybrids which are now about 8 months old. They are meant to be a quiet hybrid and moved in last September. We don't hear them unless someone is near the run but a neighbour commented that they go off all day (we commented about barking dogs before this). I randomly opened our doors and windows for the last few weeks and listened when I left home and have never heard them. They make a screech rather than nice bop bops. The coop and run are surrounded on two sides by a fence and on the third side by our garage. The coop is as far away from all of our neighbours as we would get it - about 50ft from all houses. At the moment I leave the coop door open and the girls get up and go into the run. I've opened our windows at 6am and they are not making any noise. I feed give them treats about 7.45am but they have a treadle metal rat proof feeder in the run for access to food.

My question is. What time do chickens get up in summer and how noisy are they if allowed free access to the run? I had chickens for six years and never closed coop door. Had no complaints but these are new neighbours following a five year gap in having chickens. I can cover coop and shut in but when we tried that with them when they first arrived they muttered loudly. Any tips for an anxious owner? They are generally very quiet but I've never had shrieking chickens before

[Cat tails]

This is down to the individual chicken and what you get them used to. If you feed them treats at a specific time, they will start to demand this and will call until they get their food. This is one reason I stopped giving them treats at a specific time. 
They’ll get up at dawn, which in summer can mean 5 am. But I have noticed they often produce less noise when left to their own device opposed to locking them in the coop at night.