Elderly cat breathing difficulties when purring

[Bells]

My other half has posted on here before about this but no one has given us advice.

 

We got 2 chickens (a Miss Pepperpot and a Gingernut Ranger) from Omlet last summer. All was great for the first few months then suddenly our Miss Pepperpot became really noisy. She settled down for a bit but has recently started again. Sometimes it is in the morning (from 5.30am onwards), other times it is on and off all day. It's not just a bit of chatter (our other one makes noises but cute clucky noises, not very loud) it's loud squawking. If we lived in a detached house with bigger garden it wouldn't be so much of an issue but we live in a terraced house with a smallish garden. All our neighbours are disturbed by the chicken and I just don't know what to do anymore.

 

I'm annoyed as the in the faq listed on the omlet site before you purchase is:

Are chickens noisy?

You do not have to worry about noise from your chickens. We only supply female chickens and not cockerels that crow in the morning. The only noise you will hear is a gentle clucking as your chickens' search for worms and a satisfying cluck as an egg is laid.

 

We tried giving her/ them (I really don't want to get rid of the gingernut but maybe they should stay together?) away on here or to local farms etc but no one will take them.

 

Please please can someone give me advice?

[chickencam]

Some hens are just more noisy than others. I have a Light Sussex who 'bok bok barks' to announce that she has laid an egg and if anything upsets her which is quite often.

 

One of out Pepperpots can also be noisy if something freaks her but she sounds more like a goose these days making honking noises

 

Some people try to keep the Eglu dark in the summer so that they want to get up later but you do have to be careful not to block the ventilation holes.

 

We leave our Eglu open most of the year unless sub-zero temperatures are forecast so that they can get up and eat etc. when they like.

 

I can't really help more than that. Have you tried bribing the neighbours with a fresh egg or two??

[Bells]

Do you think it may help if we get another chicken (maybe another 2)? Have noticed that she makes more noise when the gingernut is laying or she is on her own for a bit for some reason (think maybe she's just needy!). But then I worry if we do that we'd have carnage as we tried to integrate them?

[WitchHazel]

Do you think it may help if we get another chicken (maybe another 2)? Have noticed that she makes more noise when the gingernut is laying or she is on her own for a bit for some reason (think maybe she's just needy!). But then I worry if we do that we'd have carnage as we tried to integrate them?

 

Sorry to hear about your noisey chicken. I have 5 girls, and one of them (A Welsummer) is a nightmare, so I really sympathise.

 

It's really difficult to predict how any action you take will work out in practice. We had three girls who all got on well together. one died fairly early on and we were left with two. Like yours, one of the girls seemed to get a bit "distressed" when the other was in the nestbox, making this really pitiful sound.

 

So, we got two new girls. It may or may not have made a difference to Delilah;s wailing, we can't really tell because it's one of those newer girls who is now the problem. She has a bit of a foghorn voice, and she's very vocal. Her egg laying announcements go on and on and on and on and on and on, and she parps for no reason.

 

Fortunately my neighbours all work, so it's only really weekends that are a potential problem.

 

Sorry I don't have anything helpful to add.

[Helly Welly]

We have a noisy chook, appropriately called Foghorn. If they start waking up to early and making a racket in summer, we cover the run and lock the door, it really does work but be careful to still allow plenty of ventilation. If they are noisy during the day we leave them to it, it sounds better than barking dogs and squeaking trampolines. We live in a terraced house too but seeing as the nieghbours have their noisy moments then they don't complain. Maybe try hanging up some greens or a pecking block to distract her?? Good luck!

[ajm200]

Our hens are very noisy after laying eggs and if they see cats or magpies. I thought the neighbours would hate us, but we are very lucky that they don't care or actually like the noise.

 

We have had limited success by closing the run at night but leaving the eglu door open so that they can get out. This seems to stop them crowing at dawn.

 

A few well aimed shots from water pistol stopped Poppy from strutting and crowing excessively after laying. She used to be so bad that a neighbour several doors away came over to check if they were ok as she thought a noise like that had to be down to a predator. She was last to lay but the others all learnt to announce there eggs from her

 

Hope you can solve it or find someone to take them.

[Guest]

our big girls aren't particularly noisey but our bantams are little madams and really loud until we let them out of the eglu.

 

we found a solution by accident really. we have a guinlu which is basically an eglu but without the roosting bars and it has a food dish in there as it's meant for guinea pigs.

 

we also house our disabled chicken in there, because our disabled girl doesn't venture out much we put water in the food dish and scattered some corn and pellets in the guinlu itself.

 

because there was food and water in there, the bantams ceased their morning catawalling so maybe try putting some food and water in your coop?

 

here's a pic of the inside of the guinlu, you just see the metal bowl in the bottom left corner which we put water in, it slots into a hole so doesn't get knocked over.

 

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2233689&l=a3f4122b40&id=568396756

[Budgies]

Hi Bells

 

Sorry to hear you've got a noisy chicken - we had one of those!!

 

The Omlet description is accurate for most hens but unfortunately some of them do develop loud squawks and like to be heard!

 

I would definitely recommend covering the Eglu overnight with a tarpaulin or similar to black out the light. That way you'll delay their wake up time and at least avoid annoying neighbours too early.

 

As for later in the day, I guess it depends what she's making noises for. I know some people squirt a noisy chicken with a water pistol or spray gun to discourage loud unnecessary noise but I always felt so mean doing this!!

 

Good luck with encouraging her to be a bit quieter.

[Adams Egg]

We started to get a similar problem as the days got longer, they were responding to neighbours making noise partly, such as driving off to work.

I have excluded the light by covering the Eglu and the first section of run at night. I tend to leave the Eglu door closed but not locked as they learn to push it open.

At weekends though I lock it and they remain quiet until I open them by 7.30 or 8.00. Finally I give them an evening feed of wet mash about an hour before dark, it seems to fill them up and they sleep longer?

Part of the problem I found was that in winter they had become accustomed to a morning mash at 7.00 when it was getting light and associated dawn with mash time and so started demanding food, so will have to break that habit.

[Bells]

Thanks everyone. It's really nice to know we're not the only ones with a loud chicken! I'm definitely going to try covering the eglu and also putting some food inside for early morning munchies! At least that may then stop them early which is the worst time (in terms of disturbing ours and the neighbours sleep).

 

Fingers crossed we find a solution. Thanks for all the advice will let you know how we get on x

[Scotty]

Yes try shutting the door on them, and keeping it dark this works for us, Im normally running down the garden at 6:30/ 7am to open them up but I totally feel your pain here... especially at the weekends when I know people want to lay in!