Hen won't stop "talking" at night-- what's up?

[Laura & Peeps]

Aren't chickens supposed to sleep at night?!

I have 16 hens that are about 5 months old and haven't had any problems except for one "chatty" Barred Plymouth Rock.  She doesn't seem to shut up at night, just keeps constantly making a weird honking noise.  It's not the normal soft, contented clucking she does during the day, but an open-beaked constant honking that is neither loud nor very soft.

When we first heard her, we thought something was wrong and she was distressed.  I thought she might be crop-bound or egg-bound and checked her all over, but found nothing out of the ordinary.  I thought maybe she was heat-stressed, but gave up that idea as the temperatures fluctuated over several days.  She is eating, drinking and laying fine.  She doesn't seem injured or picked on; in fact she is pretty high up in the pecking order and seems totally normal during the day.  At night she is on the bottom roosting bar all by herself (wonder if she's driving the rest of them nuts!) and just doesn't seem to be able to settle down.

I check her over every couple of days still wondering if I'll find something, but for at least a few weeks now, this seems to be her normal nightly thing and can go on for hours.  I was outside one night around midnight and heard her still at it.  Is this strange?  My husband thinks she's just a loopy, whack-job chicken--maybe she needs "cheep therapy"!  (Sorry--couldn't resist!)

Any ideas?

[Kris and Jean]

Our "White Rock" pullet has been chatty at night since we got her at 3 weeks old. Our other hens will vocalize if we turn on the porch light, but this one would carry on regardless. She is much younger than the rest so at that age it may be a comfort mechanism. She began laying last month and has ceased with the chatter.

[Sheri Schmeckpeper]

That's pretty normal, and should stop when the heat subsides. We have one Barred Rock who we named Duck because of the same behavior. In the heat chickens breath with their beaks open to cool off a bit. This one chicken simply makes noise when she breaths. Some people snore, some don't. Some chickens honk, some don't. It's nothing to worry about. :)

[Rachel]

I agree with Sheri. Lots of mouth/beak breathers make this noise in the heat. It's not terribly unusual, though if a chicken is still panting at midnight, your coop could be too hot.

[Catherine, The Herb Lady]

Hi Laura,

 

If you do not have a rooster - 'sometimes' one of the higher up hens may start to behave like a rooster and /or if there is a light in the coop they may 'call'

 

Rachel may have some thoughts.

 

Had an acquaintance some years ago who had a rooster who would not shut up at night because there was a neighbor's light which shined into the coop area.  He finally got the point of when they all went into the coop to settle down for the night he just put the rooster in a cardboard box and let him out in the morning. LOL - I would not do that in the summer time, though.