4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[SeasideChick]

I've had my 4 chickens for about 5 weeks now. They are all laying one egg each day and are doing brilliantly.

 

A week ago I noticed that every now and then (usually late afternoon) we'd hear this very loud "boc, boc, boc .... SQUAWK" noise ...

 

However, last night for the first time i left their eglu door open (they are in a secure run) so that the girls could get up when they felt like it BUT I was woken up at 5am with this dreadfully loud "Boc, boc, boc ...... SQUAWKING" ..... it was just SO LOUD! I have neighbours very close by all around .. so I rushed down and shoved them all back in the Eglu cube (not easy and they weren't best pleased) in the vain hope they'd be quiet!

 

It worked for a while and then at 6.30am it started again ... albeit a tiny bit muffled thanks to the double walls of the Eglu Cube!!!

 

I feel terrible that chickens can make so much noise so early ..... I'm sure my neighbours are very cross and now I'm dreading tomorrow! I was told they were very quiet and "it was doubtful I'd hear them ... "

 

Has anyone else had this problem and is there anything that can be done?

Getting chickens was supposed to be therapeutic ... not give me stress!!

[Treekeeper]

Mine make lots of noise but it's usually when egg laying is announced not had any complaints yet I find a few fresh eggs doesn't half sweeten up the neighbours

[chelsea]

this is the precise reason why I keep the door shut.

 

I always close the door, which means Im the boss! So the chooks get let out when we say and so they cant get up at some awkward hour waking the village .

 

Our girls get let out during the week 6.45-7am and a bit later on the weekend. If I kept the door open they would have eaten their breakfast by 5.30, be bored by then and would be bok bokking to be let out of the run. So by letting them out later, they are still munching their breakfast whilst I leave for work, so I know if they bok bok when im gone - its at a sensible hour at least!!

 

I did find last summer a dark cover covering part of the eglu (not thick material) and not covering any ventilation holes did help to keep them quieter. Good luck as I know how stressful noisy chooks can be.

[cluckbok]

Hi Chelsea,

 

Do you keep your eglu door shut even in the middle of the hot summer? We were thinking of leaving ours open but if it's gonna make them make lots of noise, I don't know about that!! Don't they get too hot during the night?

[chucknette]

Hi

 

I do exactly as Chelsea does.

 

I think that by letting them out at a set time , mine is always seven in the morning seven days of the week it gets them into a routine.

 

They make no noise except dead on seven and I know I should be out there opening the door by then.

 

I shut my chooks door every day of the year and they havent come out looking or feeling hot yet. I have a cube with seven hens in and I had an eglu before with two hens in and I still closed the door at night.

 

I think routine is the answer

[chelsea]

Hi Chelsea,

 

Do you keep your eglu door shut even in the middle of the hot summer? We were thinking of leaving ours open but if it's gonna make them make lots of noise, I don't know about that!! Don't they get too hot during the night?

 

Yes We've had our eglu's since 2006 - so we had shut the door for 2 summers and no problems. the eglu is designed to be warm in winter and cool in summer .

 

I sleep better knowing they are safe aswell.

[BarbaraJ]

mine are in a coop in a run and they get let out at 7 weekdays 7.30-8 at weekends> i don't hear any noise before i let them out and the coop is in the shade so i am not too concerned about them getting hot.

[Sarah B]

Not sure if this is much help to you but my Madras had a nasty fright yesterday and for the first time made exactly the same loud noise repeating it frequently. Another more experienced forum member told me that her chooks make the same noise after a bit of bother (mine was after a cat attack).

 

Do you think there is something stressing her?

[SeasideChick]

Thanks to everyone for all the replies!

 

To Sarah B: you may be right about something stressing her ... although I couldn't see anything for her to be upset about ... no cats live anywhere near us so NEVER see a cat in the garden ... and there didn't seem to be any sign of a fox. I can only assume she was unsettled because she had come out of her Eglu Cube on her own .... and much earlier than normal.

 

Tonight I have shut the door again and will go and let them out around 7am tomorrow .... and hope that does the trick!

 

However, I'm away on holiday in the summer and wasn't proposing on having to get someone to come in twice a day to let them out and shut them up again .... thought I could leave the door open and then they'd only need someone coming in once a day ... but I can't have that racket going on whilst I'm away!!!

 

I'll try again leaving the door open in a few weeks' time and see what happens .... maybe it was just a "one off"!!!

 

Oh, the joys of chicken keeping ....

 

Thanks again to you all for replying!!