How much noise do Chickens make?

Are chickens noisy? You may immediately think of a rooster crowing at the crack of dawn, or if you've never heard a rooster crow, you might be even more curious to  see if chickens are noisy! 

Roosters are noisy; some roosters are more noisy than others, but all roosters don't just crow in the morning. Rather, roosters crow throughout the day....all day long. Some roosters have a huge ego problem and feel like they need to crow literally every 5 seconds (those roosters don't typically last long around my place). Other roosters are more moderate: crowing about once or twice every 20-30 minutes. I have noticed, however, that the frequency of crowing can vary based on the weather. For example, in the spring and summer, roosters typically crow more (presumably) because the days are long and sunny. In contrast, they crow significantly less during the winter since the days are short and dark. Regardless of the frequency of crowing, it is the most undesirable trait of roosters, which is perhaps why most people never willingly buy roosters.

What about hens? If you live in a neighborhood that "outlaws" chickens, but want chickens anyhow, making sure no one knows that you have chickens can be important. 

Obviously, the more chickens there are together, the more noise they create. However, for the small backyard flock of 4-5 chickens, a noise disturbance is probably the least of your worries. Hens typically only make really loud noises when (a) they lay an egg, or (b) a predator attack/sighting. When a hen lays an egg, she cackles anywhere from 5 to 30 seconds. Hens do this instinctively do this to draw any potential predators attention to her instead of the egg. 

Most other loud noises coming from hens is a result of an abrupt change in their environment, such as a swooping hawk, or sudden loud noises. However, the good news is that the noise making period rarely lasts more than a minute, although it can still be loud enough to get everyone's attention. Perhaps the best way to limit the amount of noise created by chickens would be to have a safe and secure coop for them to live in (or if allowed free range, having bushes and trees gives the birds another sense of security). Another way to keep hens clucking happily (but quietly) would be to keep them fed and watered on a schedule. Like most animals, chickens thrive on a schedule! 

Chickens are social animals by nature, and are also just about last on the food chain, which means communication is essential. Whenever something upsets one or many members of the flock, word spreads fast, especially if its a free-range flock. For chickens, communication is essential to their survival, especially when out on range. While chickens might be stupid in some regards, they are pretty efficient and smart when it comes to communicating to each other!