Chicken help

Shantara

Shantara

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So, our new-ish neighbours have chickens. They are the biggest pain in the backside for me and my brother (we share a room, for the time being) and while I can usually sleep through them, my brother really can't. He's a writer and because he just can't sleep, it's affecting his work.

The neighbours are such lovely people and we don't want to suggest getting rid of them. Does anyone know anything that would shut the chickens up, or a tactful way of speaking to them? Thanks!
 
Oh dear - difficult one! I have a number of rescue chickens myself and have gradually moved them further and further from the house! is it the cockerels? Trouble is the lighter the mornings the earlier it starts, can only really suggest waxy earplugs from boots, which drown out everything or speaking nicely to the neighbours - sorry:(
 
I assume it is cockerels making the noise ? My hens don't make any noise beyond the odd cluck in the mornings.

Nothing will stop them making a noise once they are out in the morning - I do sympathise, as they are up and out at 04.30 at the moment! The only thing I can suggest is that you very politely ask that the cockerels are kept in until later (say 08.00 ish?) if they are in the dark hen house then they will be silent - in theory .... One of the many reasons we don't have a cockerel
 
Hopefully for your sake they don't have a cockerel :(
Hens can be pretty noisy though, we have 4. If its an early morning thing then I would suggest covering the coop with a blanket. Hens stay silent whilst its dark so all they would need to do is uncover when they let the chickens out in the morning.
 
Nope! No cockerels! They used to have one, but he got too much and they gave him away.

It wouldn't be so bad, but their garden is quite small and close to my window, so they can't really be moved away.

Yes, they start at about 4:30-5.

I didn't think hens could be so bloomin' loud! They keep going for ages too :(
 
Have a nice chat to them. We had 6 hens, and they were waking us and neighbours up at dawn! Next door mentioned it, and as his wife was ill we tactfully re homed them to the yard where horses live. People don't think hens will be noisy but they do lots of clucking in mornings. Keeping them in till 8 will stop it. But can cause them to fight.
 
what sort of noise is it Nah?

they will cluck loudly to say they have laid an egg, the others may join in but this shouldnt last that long. of course the more chickens there are the more eggs and so it may go on as each lays

They may make this noise at other times such as if they see danger. There will be more argy bargy if the run isnt big enough for them too

There is also loud bwarrrrrking if they want something like to be let out of the run. I never let mine out and so they dont make noise but if hens are usually allowed out they will shout for it

then there is the gentle clucking as they go about their business

I have somewhere around 150 chooks at the moment and if it wasnt for the cockerels you would be hard pressed to know I have any at all. Chooks shouldnt be consistently noisy

A decent sized run with a roof and windbreaks at the sides and located as far from the house as possible will help as will keeping the chickens in the coop till a civilised hour such as 7am.

In the absence of a cockerel I would be surprised if you have cause for complaint though
 
WelshD said:
what sort of noise is it Nah?

they will cluck loudly to say they have laid an egg, the others may join in but this shouldnt last that long. of course the more chickens there are the more eggs and so it may go on as each lays

They may make this noise at other times such as if they see danger. There will be more argy bargy if the run isnt big enough for them too

There is also loud bwarrrrrking if they want something like to be let out of the run. I never let mine out and so they dont make noise but if hens are usually allowed out they will shout for it

then there is the gentle clucking as they go about their business

I have somewhere around 150 chooks at the moment and if it wasnt for the cockerels you would be hard pressed to know I have any at all. Chooks shouldnt be consistently noisy

A decent sized run with a roof and windbreaks at the sides and located as far from the house as possible will help as will keeping the chickens in the coop till a civilised hour such as 7am.

In the absence of a cockerel I would be surprised if you have cause for complaint though
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I was wondering if their run was big enough. It's quite small.

It's a "cluck cluck cluck BWAAAARRRRKKKK" ever few seconds.
They have also just got a puppy yesterday, so it wouldn't surprise me if that's why they were particularly bad this morning, but even before the puppy they were annoying.
 
Yes they will see a puppy as a danger but will get used to it eventually

if the run is too small that definitely wont help - coop manufacturers often sell on the basis of how many chickens the coop will fit and not the run. ideally they need a square metre of run each minimum

If your brother is 100% not being intolerant (and you'd be amazed how many people hate the noise of chickens but will cope with dogs barking, kids screaming and cars racing up and down a cul de sac) then I would gently ask if the chickens can be kept in until breakfast time. Unfortunately the more you dwell on it the more you hear it!

A old carpet/camping mat/blanket over the coop will muffle noise but its important that air holes are not blocked so it will only have limited effect. Another option would be to site the coop behind some fence panels to buffer some of the noise
 
I agree with WelshD, hens shouldn't be that noisy. They do announce themselves after they've laid eggs, but it doesn't go on forever and tbh mine don't lay that early in the morning to be a bother. If they are being frightened by something (a rat or cat for instance) they'll all set off with an alarm call which can go on for a bit. Has the coop a window where light can get in early in the morning? If so blacking that out might help.
 
Some hens are just noisier than others! I have some that just chatter away constantly, others that make a right racket the moment they have laid an egg, and one little bantam that just seems to screech for the hell of it........ my cockerel hardly ever crows, he just make s pleasing "bok bok bok" sound to call his ladies over when he has found a tasty treat he wants to share
 
I had to smile at the written chicken noise! Sorry, brilliant!
We are quite conscious of our hens and have spent time making certain that their horse is completely blacked out so they are silent til we let them out at 8ish.
Mine never actually make much noise anyway but the ones at work make a racket- exactally the noise you say over and over when they are laying or about to lay.
Id try the blacking out bit first- its not difficult and I don't think your being unreasonable by asking.
 
Nope, brother is not being intolerant, it's been going on for well over a month now, we hoped they'd quieten down, but it's not happened and he's getting really sleep deprived. He looked like death this morning. He's the lightest sleeper I've ever known.

There's 6 of them and if that's true, their hutch really isn't big enough.
 
I would have a polite word with them, they may sleep at the front of the house and not realise and if they are new to keeping chickens they probably thinkt he small coop/ run is big enough which is very naughty advertising if you ask me as the coops you see for sale are rarely big enough for what they advertise :mad:

You can take to them the idea of using a cover to keep them darker or move them to the further point in the garden from your window ect ... Im sure they will be more than happy to help.

Oh and if they want to rehome them im in Aylesbury and on the look out for chickens to live at the yard ... I LOVE CHICKENS :D
 
Antw23uk said:
I would have a polite word with them, they may sleep at the front of the house and not realise and if they are new to keeping chickens they probably thinkt he small coop/ run is big enough which is very naughty advertising if you ask me as the coops you see for sale are rarely big enough for what they advertise :mad:

You can take to them the idea of using a cover to keep them darker or move them to the further point in the garden from your window ect ... Im sure they will be more than happy to help.

Oh and if they want to rehome them im in Aylesbury and on the look out for chickens to live at the yard ... I LOVE CHICKENS :D
Click to expand...

Hehe! Thank you :D
I will keep that in mind ;)

Yes, it's not just chickens. A friend who bought a hamster was given a tiny cage and was told it was big enough. She did some research online and found out the cage was barely big enough to travel the poor thing in! She promptly bought an old big fish tank and converted it into a luxury hamster cage :D
 
are they shut in over night? I have 10 chooks about 20ft from our bedroom :D they are fine (no cockerel in that pen atm) but they are shut in and the glass door window is covered up in the summer. They are birds, can't help but wake up in the daylight.
Some hens are just noisy and hysterical all the time-I rehomed one like this last year. When she laid an egg the whole blinkin' valley knew about it and if anything new appeared in the run/garden she'd have a conniption.The lot I have right now are far more laid back.
If they have 6, they should each have at least 1 foot of perch each plus two laying boxes and ideally 4x6ft of floor space in the house.
 
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