peckingham palace Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 (edited) Personally I would be more likely to complain about the constant soaking the poor ladies get, (I find this concept rather worrying) rather than a little chicken noise. We could all complain about our neighbours over something or other at sometime, a crying baby, a barking dog, teenagers with loud music, cars revving their engine, lawnmowers going. In this day and age we have to live and let live, unless you have a cockerell in a close knit housing estate I don't see a problem. Lurch don't worry so much about it, but if you find it too worrying maybe think about rehoming your girls. Edited April 21, 2011 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 just be careful about "soaking" them. Their feathers are not waterproof and you could give them a chill and make them ill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chortle Chook Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 I have to say that I too think that soaking a hen is frankly cruel and is likely to make them ill rather than stopping them bokking. It is a bit like spanking a dog who has separation anxiety. It doesn't work and doesn't bring out the best in the person doing it either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peckingham palace Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 I agree cheaky chooks and can't actually imagine that the chickens will understand why they are getting an early morning soaking every day, so the whole process is totally pointless and unkind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 I'm sure Thelurch isn't intentionally "being cruel" but is looking for solutions to deal with a situation which is causing him anxiety. (Sorry if you're not a 'him', I've made that assumption!) I often worry about my girls' screeching but my neighbours say they hardly hear it and they actually like the sound anyway. Luckily they don't do it early and it doesn't last long (I've timed them!). Two doors down has a dog which barks very loudly, for which I'm very grateful . Not to mention next door's two little girls who could shatter glass with their screaming . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted April 21, 2011 Share Posted April 21, 2011 This thread has been returned, after consideration, with a few inappropriate comments having been removed. Could we keep the dialogue friendly and supportive please, and not post personal attacks. Many thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chortle Chook Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 I did not mean to say that 'The Lurch' was being intentionally cruel and I'm sure no Omleteer would be. However, Lurch, I have had a dog with separation anxiety and the build up of stress could be similar. When my dog tore apart one thing after another and I came home to total chaos after just an hour or so, in order to avoid unkindness to that dog and further increasing my own angst, I would gently put her outside till I had calmed down and would then ask myself 'Do I value the destroyed object better than my dog?' The answer was always 'no' and so I persevered. For the case of the chickens bokking, as I think that can't really be stopped longterm, my adivce would be to avoid confronting them while stressed and then ask yourself 'Do I value my chickens enough to put up with the stress they are causing me - longterm?' If the answer is 'no' then re-homing is the only, real, viable, option. I think you may have owned them for less than a year so they should still be quite marketable (whether free to a good home or for some pennies). However the longer you hold onto them the older they will be getting and so the less marketable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chick wiggle Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 I think people may be missunderstanding the term 'squirt' or 'soak' with a water pistol here. We are not advocating drenching the poor hen, merely stopping them from getting so carried away with their bokking that they just dont know when to stop. It has long been known that people use them to stop aggression and pecking when introducing new girls to an established flock. I dont think they would catch a chill from this, my girls stand out in the rain for hours with no ill effects and a simple short sharp squirt of a harmless bit of water does stop them squarking and, yes, they do learn, they are brighter than given credit for sometimes. So, if this works for you, great, its not cruel, and if it doesnt work for some hens, then dont...simple Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Chick Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 I have squirter my girls with a water pistol to stop negative behaviour (usually during introductions). It's never done my lot any harm, and I certainly don't think its cruel As for giving chickens a chill from being wet with non waterproof feathers, if that was truly the case, why are there so many chicken houses and runs (and all of Omlets products) sold without solid roofs, especially with the rain we get in Britain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mollie333 Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Is it only me thats sat here thinking of all the times my girls have been out in the pouring rain AND snow?! Hardy little beasts if you ask me. It's more the shock of ''What.. Where did that come from? Whats all over me?'' and then they will stop bokking, sometimes. I love my hens, and cockerels, they are lovely, and i love the sound of my boys crowing. But i do think about my neighbors, they do seem fine. But i'd rather hear chickens than barking dogs, loud music, people shouting in the street ect, but thats just me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Chick Posted April 26, 2011 Share Posted April 26, 2011 Perfect scenario there Moll Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Perhaps the posting about a soaking was an exageration due to the anxiety. I wouldn't like inexperienced keepers thinking it was acceptable. I give the girls a squirt if they are agressive during introductions and its the quickest way to distract them. I guess that would work with early morning bokking but not sure how long for and I don't think my pea brain Ciggie would remember the next day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madchickenlady Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 I've never had to squirt my hens. They are very respectful of a flapping tea towel, though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tweety Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 I agree wholeheartedly that chickens are more intelligent than they are given credit for, I'm just not sure that they have the ability to work out that the reason they are getting wet is the fact that they are making a lot of noise. You can get them to do almost anything for a handful of corn - or at least I can with my greedy lot - but it is a different matter when it comes to getting them not to do something! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plum Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 I've never had to squirt my hens. They are very respectful of a flapping tea towel, though Take care frightening them. My pepperpot died after I accidentally frightened her with a towel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C&T Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 A squirt for us has certainly worked, and it stops Bokking in the morning. About every 6 months or so they will suddenly start early morning bokking, and for a few days we will go out and squirt quickly with the hose - don't hit the chooks, just a quick blast close to them - and then it stops again. Chooks soon learn that a whistle or a rattle or certain noise means treats (I think most of us use this technique to get the chooks back in their run or whatever), and they learn just as quickly bokking = water. I personally do not consider this cruel, and do this a) so I can sleep and b) my neighbours can sleep. I would not wait for a neighbour to complain before I did anything, if I thought there was "something" happening on my property that was likely to cause them issues, especially if I can pretty easily resolve the situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chortle Chook Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 I still, certainly, don't think that one should make the chooks really wet or frighten them unduly. My OH does, however, use your quick hose squirt near them but not on them technique to teach our chooks not to dig showers of stones into the pond. I can't say that I really like him doing this but perhaps I'm just a bit soft, however I can say that it does seem to have worked. Has anyone thought of using the carrot and not the stick and rewarding the chooks on mornings when they are quiet? Would that be something worth trying? As for worrying about neighbours who have not complained - nagh I can't do that. I deal day in day out with members of the general public and can say that there will always be someone who minds something someone else is doing, no matter what. (I think there is a saying 'Your freedom ends where my nose begins'. Some people have very very long noses ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna C Posted May 1, 2011 Share Posted May 1, 2011 Lurch, How are you getting on with the early morning noise? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scarlettohara Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 I'm joining the 'annoying early morning bokking club' as they are irritating me now and like others my neighbours are sleeping with windows open (mine is open all year round on fox alert ) What do people put over the cube ? Obviously I don't want to suffocate the girls Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Speckled Hen Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 I just get up,feed them and let them out...........then go back to bed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoice Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Me too. I must say since locking them in and ME having control of when they get up has stopped the moaning in the mornings (Apart from the first week of protests). Weekdays I let them out at 6.30 just before i leave for work and hang up half a cob of sweetcorn so they can play swingball and a tiny scatter of corn and mealworms to keep them occupied for a while. I figure any noise they make after a reasonable hour like 7am on a weekday will be fine - heck the wood pigeons make more noise at 4am than my girls now anyway. Weekends I have left them locked in till about 7.45am - 8am, no problem, then just trundle back to bed if I want a lie in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thelurch Posted March 21, 2016 Author Share Posted March 21, 2016 Hi all, It's been a few years since I visited these forums! I've just found this thread whilst looking for another subject. I still have hens, the original lot have come and gone and so have two other lots. And yes we still have early morning Bokking, different hens, same noise. I'm more chilled out about it now but I do still dread the spring and summer early mornings, they started Bokking at 5.00am this morning and it was still pretty much dark. We've taken to shutting the door at night and opening it every morning but the Bokking starts in the house! I gave up on the squirting long ago. The house at the back of us is currently for sale so will be interesting what happens there as the current owners have been there pre chickens. I must just be lucky I guess with noisy hens, I've had different varieties from different sources over the years and twice the remaining hens of the batch were re homed (due to egg laying becoming erratic ) and a whole new batch bought and still the Bokking happens. No complaints in 6 years that I'm aware of, but if I had read this before I got hens I wouldn't have gone ahead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 Welcome back! I'm in a very similar situation - I'm soon going to have to go out every evening and physically put my 5 girls into their eglus so they don't squawk the place down when it's early light . Something to be said for the winter when they go to bed early and rise late! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickabee Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 From looking at your breeds I'm guessing it's your light Sussex girls that are starting it. They're noisy little madams. Could you fit an electric pop hole so they can free range once it's light. I do feel for you, I wouldn't want to give my girls up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat tails Posted March 22, 2016 Share Posted March 22, 2016 Mine let me know every morning that they want to be released from their Eglu prison. They are up at 6:30 now. Luckily the clock changes this weekend and it will be 7:30! Summers it's 5:45 if I am lucky... Normally I shuffle out of bed. Grab a hand of shredded endive, toss it in the garden and shuffle back to bed again. It does help covering the run in the evening with the heavy duty tarp. Lets in less light I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
