[Skywise]

I've got three chooks and I love them to bits.

Unfortunately one of them (Phyllis, my Light Sussex) has recently started to turn into a bit of a screamer.

We got them in October and kept them in their run until the beginning of this month when the weather started to dry out.  We're on solid clay soil here and we didn't want the lawn turning into a mudbath over the winter.

They love free ranging around the garden and we let them out whenever we're at home but I'm a bit concerned that this is what has turned Phyllis from a lovely, guiet girl into the world's noisiest chicken!  It's not just the normal "Bok Bok Bokaaaaark" of egg laying - oh no - this is a full on scream which goes on and on until she's let out of the run to play in the garden.

Unfortunately, we live on an estate, surrounded by neighbours and I'm getting really concerned that they're going to start complaining (the neighbours - not the chickens!).  No-one has complained yet, but when I got home this evening one of  our neighbours called in to say that she'd been making such a noise he'd popped around into our garden to make sure the chooks were ok.  This was, of course, very kind of him but I don't think it'll be long until his concern turns into something a lot less chicken friendly.

Has anyone got any suggestions about how I could keep her quiet when we're at work?  Otherwise, I'm very much afraid I'll have to look into rehoming her which, obviously , is a last resort as I don't want to lose one of my girls.

Any and all advice gratefully accepted . . . . . .

Thanks

Sky

[SamT]

I have exactly the same problem with a bluebell. I have 3 chickens and had them 2 and half years and for the last month or so she screeches to be let out of the pen on a morning and for the sake of the neighbours I get up to let them out into the garden. The problem is she also screeches if she can't see the other two, or if one in particular is in laying an egg she kicks off. She also whines none stop for about an hour after being let out which then develops into the screech if I don't distract her. I am worried that I will have to get rid of her too as I'm sure the neighbours will notice it more in summer when their windows are open. I can't be there every morning to do this. I did wonder if getting more chickens might help. Hope we both find an answer.

[ANHBUC]

What size run are they kept in Skywise?  They need plenty of room and things to keep them occupied.  I have 2 drinkers and feeders then I have a galvanised watering can full of water which they love drinking from.  An old twisted banch resting on a large boulder.  They love climbing over the boulder and sitting on the branch.  I tip my old flower pots into their run and they love breaking them apart for tasty morsels.  They can also dust bathe in the compost as we also have clay soil so they love it.  They are in a large enclosure, their coop has an attached covered run and I have an old table about 1 metre square so they have plenty of shade and shelter.  They all like doing their own thing and sometimes need a bit of space to themselves.

[helens-hens]

Echo ANHBUC. Give them things to keep them occupied - stuff they can scratch around in, suspend things they can peck at e.g. cabbage or swede.

I also think it may have something to do with spring being here. There have been a couple of discussions on this subject recently & I am sure mine were the same last spring.

Hope this helps

[Skywise]

Their run is 10 x 10 and they have a dust bath in the corner and spring greens hanging from the roof.  There are a couple of perches of different heights so they can play king of the castle - I can't really put much more in there or there won't be room for the chickens 

I think I'm going to try getting one of those balls that you stuff with corn and let them roll it around to see if that keeps her occupied.  She is a bit of a tummy on legs so hopefully giving her extra foody things will help.  I was also watching "Hugh's Chicken Run" again the other day and they said they suspend old CDs for the chooks to peck at so I might give that a go as well - at least it's an excuse to get rid of Hubby's old trance music 

Also, I took the opportunity last night, as all the neighbours were out in their gardens, to check whether the noise was *really* that bad and, luckily, they all said no, but I'm not sure how much of that was politeness and how much was truth.  Anyway, I've enlisted them to keep an ear out during the day and let me know how much squawking actually does go on - I thought if I involved them a bit then they might be a bit more forgiving!

Anyway, thanks for the advice guys - I think the answer is just to overwhelm her with stimuli and hope for the best *g*

[nerdle]

Mine spends at least two hours evey day pecking at an old mirror I got from the tip.

[Oliveview]

We used to have a hen who would get demented if another hen was in a nesting box she wanted to go in, she drove me mad, let alone the neighbour.  She was a white leghorn.  She sounded like she was being strangled...... infact some days I could have strangled her the nose was so bad! I am sure yours can´t be that bad, otherwise the neighbour would be complaining!!  She grew out of it eventually   She had the garden to free range in, so it wasn´t she was shut in, she was just flipping noisy and bad tempered.

[chookboy]

We used to have a hen who would get demented if another hen was in a nesting box she wanted to go in, she drove me mad, let alone the neighbour.  She was a white leghorn.  She sounded like she was being strangled...... infact some days I could have strangled her the nose was so bad! ....

ROFL

Foghorn Leghorn - our Pacha is exactly the same! Anyone in the nestbox, she squawks! If she doesn't get out to free range early enough, she squawks! If (insert something here), she squawks!
I used to be worried about the neighbours - next door loves them, so that's OK. Next door to them just asked this week
"How long have you had chooks?"
"Coming up 2 years" I replied.
"Oh, I thought you'd just got them".

I think the girls always sound louder to their owners than they actually do to anyone else. When I think about it properly, they are quieter than traffic, the geese which fly overhead, the dawn chorus, the neighbours dogs, the neighbours children, lawnmowers, plaaytime at the local school, etc, etc, etc
I've kinda given up worrying - if someone wants to complain, I'll deal with it at the time.

Just noticed Phyllis is a light sussex - is noise a 'feature' of white / mostly white hens?