Single hen

[TheChookKeeper]

Hello,

 

All of a sudden this afternoon, one of my girls has gone a bit potty, and started making a hell of a din.

 

There doesn't appear to be any reason for it - they are all shut up in their run today, and the rest (5) are all fine, it is just no.6 who is creating.

She has gone into the house, and is making a damn lot of noise! I can imagine the neighbours aren't loving me just at the minute.

 

Any ideas why? The cat population around here is pretty high, and they got over their fear of them ages ago, nothing else is likely to have gotten around there to scare them, plus, a bit weird it is only one of them.

 

In order to give my neighbours (and the other girls, who are all getting a bit funny about all the noise themselves!) a bit of restbite, I have closed the door to the house, and this appears to have helped a little, but she is still going on and on!

 

I suppose it is possible she might be brewing her first egg, but none of the others who have started laying have made this much fuss about it!

 

Any suggestions anyone?

[chelsea]

mine make a right ole racket if there is a cat/predator in the garden - really loud, so it could be that.

 

She could also, like you say - be about to lay her 1st egg. Coco our regular layer also makes a lot of noise before and after she goes in the nest box.

 

Ella is a noisy chook, she will make a noise for any reason, because she is top chook and likes the sound of her own voice! I have given her a squirt with the hosepipe before just to shut her up and this works, other people have used water pistols on noisy chooks too.

 

We always close the eglu door at night simply because Ella is noisy in the morning.

[theherd123]

Is she laying yet?

[Egluntyne]

Sounds like she's about to lay.

 

Mine boc boc when there is a fox or cat in the garden.

[TheChookKeeper]

Thank you very much for your replies!

 

You'll have to forgive my terminology here - not sure if there are standardised "chicken noises" in the English language yet...

 

She started off with a "boc boc", then after about 5 of those, she would let out an almighty "BARRRRGH!" - this then scared the rest of the girls, who didn't seem to have any idea what she was so het up about, so they all start "boc boc-ing" too!

 

After about 15 minues "in the slammer" by herself, she calmed down, and I opened the door again, and out she popped happy as larry!!! Not another peep (apart from the usual) for the rest of the evening.

 

No predators as far as I am aware - surely the others would have kicked off too?

I don't *THINK* she is laying yet, although her comb has developed quite well now, so it can only be a matter of time.

I checked once she had calmed down again for any signs, but no egg... not even a gigantic poop, so who knows what her problem was!

 

Hopefully it won't become a habit - or else I may have to resort to a water pistol too!!!

 

Thanks again

[chelsea]

she sounds like she's the top chook. So the loudness of her bawking was to warn the others probably. I bet it was something unusual in your garden or a cat/something similar and she was telling everyone. Perfectly normal

 

If she's coming into lay - she will squat/crouch when you go to stroke her.

[Snowy]

Mine have done that occasionally, usually if next doors cat has snuck into the garden - trouble is by the time I've gone out to investigate the cat has long gone. I don't think cats like shrieking chickens!

[Ziggy]

Mine do that same boc boc boc boc boc BAAAAARRRRK not just if they feel danger but sometimes if they just want attention... I remember them doing so once just cause they could see me through the window after I'd been out for a while, and sometimes they even do it when they hear the car!!! I'm very happy that my neighbour is partially deaf (well, not happy that he's deaf obviously, poor man, but happy that the boc-bok-barking doesn't disturb him).

 

 

Oh and yes it usually sends me running to them to see what's wrong, just to find nothing unusual!!!

[superjules]

I know exactly what you mean. Daffodil does that noise after she's laid an egg or when she's bored of the run and wants to go "on safari". Bok bok, bok bok, bok bok, BOKARK! Always makes me dash into the garden thinking "Argh, must be a fox!"

 

Haven't heard Marigold doing it yet though. She's much quieter. She got herself stuck in the rafters of the shed the other day and I had to go in there 3 times before I could find her as she's so quiet. I think it's definitely an "I'm the boss" top-chook thing.

[sebowyer]

Ours used to make a huge racket for no apparent reason, although sometimes they were hungry, thirsty, bored, shut in the run, it was dawn/afternoon/dusk, there was a cat/shadow/threatening-looking leaf in the garden and so on. Eventually we shut them in the eglu overnight and only let them out in the morning when we got up. That kept the noise down to a neighbour-friendly limit. They only started making noise when they started to lay.

[Snowy]

Mine did it today, so I went outside doing the

There was an enormous hot air balloon going over the garden! I nearly joined them!

[TheChookKeeper]

Reading those last few posts has made me laugh so much!!! Thank you!

 

I am glad to hear she's not about to drop off her perch or anything, I had been getting a bit worried something might have been wrong.

 

Strange you should mention a hot-air balloon, there was one of those quite low near our house this afternoon... who knows, maybe she took a dislike to it!

 

Thanks again everyone - you're all so friendly!

[KeymerKim]

Yep, Hot Air Balloons and Helicopters set my lot off.

 

FuffKnicks never needs an excuse to SQAAARK loudly - mostly coz she wants her treats (Wheetabix mainly) - and the others look at her as if she's quite mad. She does tend to make more noise just before laying tho. The others are quiet in comparison to her.

[clucky]

Yes, a sign of an egg brewing. Our Maran (Scarlet) laid her first egg today. We noticed too that she was acting strangly and making a lot of noise, which she doesn't nomally do.

 

Hope you get an egg - keep your eyes peeled

[TheChookKeeper]

Was woken at 7:30 this morning (yep, I know, the luxuries of an office job, and only living 10mins from it!) by the same (not so) little girl doing the same thing again.

They hadn't been let out, but that is nothing unusual, they usually come out at about 8am.

 

Anyway - she carried on for about 10 minutes, and then it all went quiet. When I finally hauled myself out of bed, and went to let them out, as usual, there was an egg!

 

For some reason, none of my 3 laying girls lay in the morning, they all do it mid-late afternoon, so I guessing the sudden silence, and a morning egg signaled that this one was just causing her a bit of agro in the bum department!

 

Hopefully it won't carry on like this, and she will settle down again. I didn't have any noise this evening - fingers crossed for the moring!

 

Thanks for all your help everyone!

[chickencam]

My White Star has had a week or so off lay then yesterday morning before 7 she started making the noise you describe and she was just telling us that she was clever and had done that egg thing again. She did the same this morning at about 8.30 so less trying for us and the neighbours.

[Chickaboo]

Phoebe wakes us up at around 7 on weekend mornings with a "boc boc.....barrgh", generally only if the weather is good funnily!! Daphne makes a lot of racket laying, but you would only hear it close up. Mine still shout at cats, squirrels or other big birds in the garden, I think to show how important they are. The neighbours haven't complained yet, but I do worry.