# How noisy are hens?



## SonnysKeeper (Sep 11, 2012)

hi, im planning on getting my 1st ever few(3-4) hens soon(ex-battery), wondering how much noise they make/roughly how loud, my only worry is them irritating the neighbours(mainly just in the evening and night) or the noise drawing attention from the scrotes on the estate that will have never seen a living chicken in their lives(although the hens will be kept in my back garden out of sight and surrounded by high hedges that should muffle a lot of sound)

I'm imagining there could be a lot of noise(possibly sounding a little distressing) during the settling in period whilst they squabble over the pecking order?


Also, roughly how high can hens jump? 

id like to be able to let them out of the run at times as I have a good mid sized enclosed garden, there's high hedges around most of it with 2-3ft high wire fencing running along the bottom of the hedge row(to stop my dog getting through gaps in the hedge), are the hens likely to be able to jump the height of this wire fencing and get through holes in the hedge row(or get stuck in the hedges1) I imagine they'd have to be quite adventurous and inquisitive to find the gaps in the hedges


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## Nicki85 (Oct 6, 2010)

Hi, I have four chooks... all girls  One of them is very noisy, she demands to be fed, let out etc. and she is LOUD! They are also noisy after laying an egg (they sing a special song lol)... I really think it depends on the chickens as to how noisy they will be.

I think most chooks would be able to hop over a small fence/ hedge as you describe. Some are better fliers than others... they are also very good at finding holes in hedges!! 

The omlet forum is a really good source of info you may want to try there as well


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## SonnysKeeper (Sep 11, 2012)

There not anywhere near as loud as cockerels though are they :001_unsure:

do they settle/sleep at night or are they just constantly making noise(to varying degrees)?

thanks for your response and ill check that other forum out, cheers


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## AlexArt (Apr 25, 2010)

They are quiet at night but will start to cluck and make a load of noise as soon as it gets light, and as Nicki85 said some will make a huge amount of squawking after laying an egg or seeing something they don't like, like a cat or bird of prey, I wouldn't of thought you could hide them and no-one notice them!! - it can go on for 20 mins or more and is almost as loud as a cockrel but continuous!

Fence wise chickens can and will fly especially if spooked they will look for the highest spot to sit, ISA warrens are less likely to bother with high fences than some breeds and are generally laid back though, mine will happily jump up onto the garden wall which is about 4ft, we have a 6ft fence round our orchard now for them though and my ISAs don't bother with that. Hedges they will deffinitly climb about in and will look to scratch around in it and under it if they can so chicken fencing is a must if you want to leave them out and about.
I would check with your neighbors to keep on the right side of them to see if they are happy with chickens living next door - they do smell - their poop smells as bad as dog poo!, and they do attract rats and mice no matter how clean you are with the food, so check with your neighbors first and keep them on your side. Also make sure you are allowed to keep livestock on your land - some residential areas don't allow livestock at all, the village i used to live had a clause that we couldn't keep birds at all.
They are great fun though and the eggs are a great bonus!!


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## SonnysKeeper (Sep 11, 2012)

thanks a lot for replies,

jeez a little worried now, I thought hens just clucked and worbbled a little,

I live in a rented semi-detached house on a 'social housing' residential estate with good sized garden at the front, side and back with fully grown(about 15ft+) hedges around most sides.

As for the neighbours, one side(the un-attached side) is privately owned and currently up for sale(and is usually unoccupied), the attached side is I think may be privately owned also(though i'm not sure) there's an oldish couple that live there that I've never spoken too and barely ever set eyes on and there's also gardens backing on to mine with the hedges in-between, again I don't know the occupiers of them(its not the kind of area that you'd really want to get to know most people, if you know what I mean!).

The nearest neighbours house front to where im planning on placing the coop is probably about 35-50ft away with the thick high hedges and bushes in between(which I was hoping would muffle a lot of sound), also like mine most houses around here have upvc double glased windows and doors which keep a lot of sound out.

noise during the day shouldn't be an issue as long as its not very loud and persistent at night I was planning on keeping closed inside the coop(which again should I was hoping muffle some more of the sound)

as for poop I already have an old dog so ive no problem with any smell and the like from that(and most neighbours also have dogs so cant imagine them complaining about that)


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## SonnysKeeper (Sep 11, 2012)

thanks for the replies,


Its strange nearly all other forums and articles im reading are saying that noise usually isn't a real issue if there's only a small number of hens and no cockerel.

The nearest neighbours house front/back to mine is about 35-50ft away from where I'm planning on placing the coop, with fully grown(15+ft) hedges and bushes separating the gardens. I was hoping the hedges would muffle some of the sound plus keeping the closed into there coop at night(which is made of fairly thick wood) Also most houses around here have double glazed upvc windows and doors that are good at keeping out a lot of sound.

I live in a rented semi-detached social housing association property on a residential social housing estate, I've a good sized garden at the front, side and back of the house with as I said very high hedges/trees and bushes most of the way around.

As for neighbours, well, on the attached side there is an oldish couple that I've never spoken too and barely set eyes on in the 4 years I've lived here and I think they may own there property, on the detached side there is a privately owned house that has been up for sale for 2 years and is un-occupied most of the time it seems, there are gardens backed up to my garden separated by the hedges, ect.. and again ive never had any dealings with any of the people living in those properties(sadly its the kind of area where its usually best to avoid the neighbours, if you no what I mean!!!)

Most people(including myself) have dogs around here so nobody is likely to complain about the occasional whiff of animal poo(unless it becomes really excessive, I will clean regularly and not let it get into to much of a state)


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## SonnysKeeper (Sep 11, 2012)

sorry about the repeat posts!!!!!


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## Kaynine (Jul 20, 2012)

You will need to check that there is not a clause in your rental agreement or the deeds of the house, preventing you from keeping poultry. My chickens made very little noise, just gentle clucking. Although one particular hen did make a lot of noise when she had laid an egg, but it didn't last very long. As long as you don't keep a cockerel there shouldn't be a lot of noise. As others have said chickens do attract rats (as do feeding birds etc) but if you are fastidious about clearing up each day and lot leaving food out overnight, you may not have any bother.

Ideally fences should be 5 to 6 ft high as some breeds of hen can jump and fly higher than others. You can clip a wing on one side of the chicken which makes it very difficult for it to fly.

You will need to make sure that your hens cannot get through hendges etc into neighbours gardens. They are quite adventurous and will soon decimate a nice garden!

There are a couple of good poultry keeper forums on the web, where you will get expert advice. They were a boon to me when I first started keeping hens.

Good luck.


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## SonnysKeeper (Sep 11, 2012)

Thanks Kaynine

If your being responsible and not causing any damage to the property the housing association are usually pretty easy going on these kinds of things and there's nothing specific in my tenancy agreement, they usually only get involved if a complaint is made.


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