[lucylou]

hi! my little bantie maran, brenda is so very noisy almost all the time. she didnt used to be but since maturing she just sqwarks all the time, not in a frantic way  - more in a complaining sort of way but she is very loud. ive got 7 others who of course have their moments but there is no let up from Brenda and i am worried that come the summer it will be annoying for our neighbours(its already annoying for us) when she is ruining the peace as they sit the other side of their fence i am thinking about rehoming her - husband says we could sell her at the rare poultry auction but i am very fond of her and would be worried about her next home/being bullied etc (going a bit far i know but that's just me) does anyone have any suggestions about how i could quieten her, short of putting a rubber band around her beak? many thanks, lucylou

[SUTTY1]

Sorry i have no help but hope you sort it and dont have to get rid.
They give you so much fun and entertainment(and eggs as a bonus) dread the day my 1st one goes for what ever reason

[ehs284]

We have one like that. She never stops and loud!! It doesn't bother us, but clearly annoys the other chooks. Sometimes you will see them telling her to be quiet. She is for a bit, then back to normal. I'd tell your neighbours about her now. They probably will not be as bothered as you think, but don't wait until the warm summer days for you to find out.

[Beano]

We have one that's complaining all the time. When the other two go somewhere she doesnt want to, she pretends she's found some food. The others just ignore her. When she sees a buzzard or anything slightly out of the ordinary she makes a very strange alarm noise which does panic the other two. She's a bit of a drama queen really. She is not a reliable layer and whenever one of the other two go in to lay she will follow them in and I can hear her scolding her inside to coop. I really don't know how they put up with her. But our neighbours are fine with her constant noise.

[Flowerpower136]

Oh dear!  Can't think what you can do, but hope you don't need to rehome.

Noise is a worry though if you've close neighbours.  How do you get on with them? are they likely to complain?

[Bonniebean]

I have a noisy bantam, particularly before she lays an egg, and also if she sees me in the garden. Last weekend she was talking to the hens two houses away and they were answering back! I met one of my neighbours and he said how wonderful it is to hear them and wishes I would get a cockerel!!! No-one has had a moan yet but I understand how you feel as summer is a different issue with people spending more time outside. I think I shall just wait and see, but telling her to shut up does work sometimes!

[lucylou]

thanks everyone for your replies!  we have lovely neighbours who dont mind our girls - but i  want it to stay that way! i keep telling myself...oh she's not too bad really and then i go out and hear what sounds like a dinosaur in the garden and i get worried again

[hillfooter]

Well you've got me stumped on this one.  I've never heard of anyone managing to quiet down a noisy hen or cock short of stretching their necks.

The only hope would be to try to condition her response to being noisy such as playing an unpleasant noise to her in direct response but it would need to be inaudible to you and generated automatically so it was associated with the squark.  Can't say I've ever seen anything which will do this so it's probably not a practical idea but effectively it's how we all learn at an instinctive level ie if in response to a certain behaviour there's an unpleasant outcome we learn not to repeat the behaviour.  So the idea of telling her off isn't so silly as it might seem.

Regards
HF

[Caralou]

I had this problem with my two silkie girls - they were noisier than a cock bird as it was a constant with them from getting up to going to bed. I had to rehome them in the end and guess what?.... they are no longer as noisy in their new home 

[joshbuchan]

tell me about it.. i got 2 that try have compertishions with each other.... then the cockrawls get in on it.... my nabuoirs must be so anouyed as its closer to them them then me its d-day on saterday for the 5 cockrawls! goingto have some fresh chicken for a cupple weeks  

theres nothing u can do, i have herd about people getting cockrawls voise box taken out by the vet but it makes them 10 times less of a man, its who they are (fort i would never say that with the raket my lot give of) and changing one thing might change there personality, i had one chicken who used to folow me, she was a ex bat, unfortanly she must of got out and seen sombody walking down the lane followd them... i never seen her again

[francais]

must be a size thing  my ickle bantie is just the same - lets all and sundry know she's about! the other two are just laid back. From the moment you let her out she's off on about god knows what!