sophia_chicken Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Hi, I have had my ex-batts for one week now, and everything is going well.... except one of my girls has noisy spells when she strutts about making a dreadful racket. The other hens ignore her completely. Having been assured that female hens are pretty quiet little souls, I am getting really worried that my neighbours are going to complain .... Has anybody got any ideas why she is doing this and what I can do to quieten her down? I can't see any signs of danger that provoke her, and my two boisterous greyhounds don't seam to bother her..... Kind regards SOPHIA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clucking mad Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 give her chance to settle in, then she might give you some peace. or she might just always be noisy no matter what Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meezers Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Well I have been telling everyone how quiet my chooks are and now I've jinxed myself, Bluebelle layed her first egg yesterday and another this morning - and doesn't she tell the world about it ? ! she started about 8.30am telling how she was going to lay an egg, carried on with the odd squawk while in the nestbox,(Lottie was in the next nestbox and the look on her face was a classic - she screwed her eyes up and flinched with each squawk ! ) and the racket she made after she laid was unbelievable ! I went out several times to shhsh her, but it made no difference. I'm just hoping she doesn't lay any earlier than 8.30am or we might be getting complaints. Maybe it just depends on the individual chook ?as none of the others make much noise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmandaR Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 All of my girls make an awful racket after laying or when there is a cat in the garden. I find that throwing them a handful of raisins out the back door distracts them for long enough to forget what they were Bawking about...then again, maybe they are training me - Noise = treats. I used to really worry about how the noise would affect the neighbours but everyone has said how they love hearing them - especially the older residents as it reminds them of when they/their parents kept chickens in the war. On the face of it, the noise is no worse than the noise created by the wild birds, car alarms, children playing or dogs barking. All of which are common in towns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abbey Road Girl Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Hi Sophia, My top chook is a real motormouth! She makes more noise than the other three combined, whether when she's in the process of laying an egg, announcing her achievement or when running around with a treat that she's snagged from the treat ball. It isn't a constant thing though, so I doubt it will really irritate my neighbours. Not as annoying as a car alarm, is it? It would be a bit of a loss if they were boringly alike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 If it is a Bok Bok and she stands to attention, then it is an alarm call....something has startled her, a cat, a fox, magpie....the possiblities are boundless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 mine bok bok at anything - opening of car doors, cats, birds, aeroplanes, or just to get my attention! I find food stops them/keeps them occupied for a while, but there's not a lot else you can do to stop them bokking! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urbanchick Posted May 5, 2008 Share Posted May 5, 2008 Hi Sophia I do know exactly how you feel. When I first got my 3 ex batts I had the same problem with one of them (the scrawniest and most timid one). It was ear splitting and would start very early in the morning. She just seemed to be strutting her stuff for no particular reason. I was seriously worried about the neighbours' reaction and tbh they would have been justified in complaining. She calmed down after a week or so, then it started again when I put them into the cube with my Omlet hens. That lasted over a week! I was cringing under the bedcovers at 6am, hoping they would stop. To reassure you, now they are settled together it has stopped - just some gentle squawks on the occasional morning. It feels like an age before it all calmed down but will do eventually, and I had to integrate them with existing hens so it will probably be much quicker for you. I have noticed the neighbours now sleep with their window shut though (always open before) so it must have bothered them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 Totally agree with the comment above Sophie, We rescued 4 ex-bats and were blown away by the amount of noise they all made. After a few days they seemed to get the shouting under control and they seem to only do it now when they are about to lay... (and that's not for long). Your neighbours are probably loving the new additions as well. they will soon be popping their heads over the fence for the occasional egg! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessa the Duchess Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 I suppose I am lucky my chickens are very quiet, they don't even bok bok at next doors' cat any more. However, if I try and talk over the fence to my neighbour, Winnie goes mental she makes the most outrageous noise, just like a spoilt toddler who wants her mother's attention all the time Also if anybody starts doing any digging she screeches like a banshee until you let her out to 'help' Tessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helly Welly Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 Mine can all be noisy when they want and i too used to worry about the neighbours. However, on one side we have neighbours who make an awful lot of noise themselves so tough if they ever have the cheek to complain. The other side is our wonderful chicken-sitter who seems to love the chickens and spends more time watching them than we do If the girls are driving me nuts i throw them a few mealworms or corn or raisins. A bit of distraction works wonders Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Watch Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 I wonder if she is alarmed about something and less settled than the others. I suppose it must take time to get used to being in an open space instead of a battery cage. Perhaps the Battery Hen Welfare Trust can give you some advice. I read an interesting article in the May issue of Practical Poultry magazine about runs and their situation. It said a "chicken's worst nightmare is to be plonked down in the middle of an open field, they hate big skies. Don't imagine you're doing them a favour by lcating the chicken run in a bright, airy part of your garden." Trees and shrubs are good. My girls are sometimes noisy to announced they have laid and sometimes not. Sometimes one will "bok bok" for no reason that I can see and I distract her with corn or just by going out to see them. I have been known once to squirt a noisy hen with a hosepipe but I wouldn't do that with a fragile ex-batt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhotchick Posted May 6, 2008 Share Posted May 6, 2008 I hope your hens settle into a nice quiet routine soon Sophia. If it's not constant you probably cringe more than your neighbours as you will be listening out for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cathybc Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 I am getting more used to when my girls are noisy; they don't seem to mind my 3 cats but do create when Tigger from round the corner sets himself up on the shed roof, he must be in their line of vision. They also seem to squawk after they lay. And I mowed my lawn last night - they were really scared and noisy . They ran into the Eglu so I shut the door until I had finished, so hopefully they felt a bit safer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooks Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Mine got alarmed yesterday at a large gust of wind and bok'd at that.. although they were looking around expecting to see something.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Betha my Light Sussex is very noisy, she gets spooks by all sorts of things and then won't shut up. Sometimes a couple of the others join in too, we are just keeping our heads down waiting for the complaints. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FruitandNutCake Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Mine create an awful racket from 6ish in the morning when they start laying - throug till 8 am when they have almost finished laying! then they see me and start again, becuase they want to come out of the run into the garden. I was telling them all to shush and that they will wake the neighbours in the next town!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HnM Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 One of our first hens had a horrible early morning (I'm talking 5.30am here) habit. Nothing would stop it. Eventually we did get a complaint and we had to pacify the council by inviting them round to "meet the girls", reassuring them that there wasn't a cockerel (outlawed in urban areas). Eventually she just stopped doing it. Sometimes it was related to noise or shocks, sometimes to someone opening a door in a neighbouring town... often to complain that she 'only' had a third of the garden to run around in.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helly Welly Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 I can't put the washing out too early as they see me and start boking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chelsea Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 this is my "quiet" cochin - http://s76.photobucket.com/albums/j18/weener10/chooks/?action=view¤t=MOV00115.flv yes, she supposed to be a quiet breed! (apologies for picture quality but you get the idea of the sound) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooks Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 she's very funny... she's telling someone a right tale there.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helly Welly Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Sounds all too familiar to me I haven't been able to shut Star up all day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
