Squawking hen upsetting the neighbours

[Pony Girl]

Does anyone have any advice on dealing with noisy hens? Since a few weeks before she started laying, our pekin bantam, Mabel, has got extremely noisy and makes a persistent ear-piercing squawk which I fear is really starting to upset the neighbours!

None of the other hens do it and it's really annoying! She's worse when we go outside in the garden so at the moment we feel like we're being held hostage in the house by a bantam!!! Last year she was the same until she went broody and peace was restored to the neighbourhood. Have any of you experienced similar problems? Is it something to do with the pecking order?

 

[Thresherhens]

Hi, my 3 Pekins are exactly the same when anyone goes to the run or if they are mooching around the garden and i open the patio door its a nightmare as they associate me/people with food...but they seem to understand (i think) the word QUIET!!! well on ocassions... or they just wonder what this mad women is shouting!! The two larger hens are especially vocal after laying...they tell the world that they've popped out an egg!!! I too am concerned as i live in an urban environment and have neighbours all around me, but thats something i'll have to deal with when the time comes!

 

[Anonymous]

i think animals make noise and theres not much you can do to stop it, the cockerel crows, the donkeys eeyore and the hens shout about after they have laid their egg for the day. its just the way nature intended animals to be and theres not much you can do to stop including crying babies and children!

 

[Anonymous]

I have Pekins and Wyandottes and a couple in particular are very vocal. If its not the cock crowing, its the hens screeching :lol: We have neighbours both sides and luckily no-one has said anything yet. Bribe them abit by giving them eggs and letting their children in to look at them.

 

[Pony Girl]

I'm glad I'm not the only one, Thresherhens!! Are your three all equally vocal, or is there one that's worse than the others?

Flo and Phantom both seem to be fairly quiet all year round (apart from the egg laying noise, which if loud, is at least brief and not at all unpleasant) but for several weeks in the spring / summer Mabel is an absolute screeching / squawking nightmare! She will occasionally respond to 'SSSHHH' but once she's got going nothing will shut up, she just gets louder, and more and more ear piercing. The only thing that would quieten her down the other day was when I picked her up and carried her round with me whilst I poo-picked the garden. I fear we will have to re-home her if we get any complaints. :-(

 

[daniellesdogs]

iv 4 crowing roosters and a hen who crows also a giunea fowl that braas like a high pitch donkey continuasly. thankfully most the hens are reasonably quite
im already considering cutting back before i do get a complaint the boys and giunea fowl sadly.
as the guinea fowl is disabled so i can only see a sad end for poor mindy.
can you lock her up till after shes had her egg or is she doing it when not laying