We have been keeping chickens for a little over nine months. The four hens are free range through half of our back yard with a coop for laying and roosting. Two problems have developed in the last month. One: The chickens are getting REALLY loud (almost rooster-esque), the only thing that quiets them is if we throw out scratch (they have oyster shells, pellets, access to bugs etc). This happens first thing in the morning (5 AM) and usually around 5 at night. This brings the second problem: it seems every bird in our neighborhood knows there is scratch in our backyard so now the walls between our yard and our neighbors are filled with hovering birds and their poop! Any ideas to giving the chickens the scratch they seem to demand (can you spoil chickens??!) while not encouraging every wild bird w/in 30 miles? Anyone else have chickens that you can hear squawking from every room in your house and your front yard or are mine vocally blessed?

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  • I doubt you have to give them scratch, their regular more nutritious food would probably make them be quiet too. You may have to wean them back to that by mixing it in with scratch.
    Chickens wake up hungry so unfortunately this time of year they get loud EARLY. This year I splurged and bought the $80 large automatic battery powered pet feeder. It's made for cats and dogs and says 'for indoor use only' but I'm taking my chances. :) You can program it to feed up to 3 cups 3 times a day so it will work with people that have as many as 10-12 birds. Right now I have it programmed to dispense food at 5 am. This is usually about the time the birds are getting up, so they beat the neighborhood birds to most of the food (the sparrows and doves do work as the cleanup crew..) It heads off the non egg-laying morning noise and keeps me in bed for another hour.
    • I also bought one of those $80 auto feeders that you're not supposed to use outdoors. I found out why. The feeder worked perfectly for two days. By the second day, a little critter crawled up the feed chute and chewed off those little rubber dispenser flaps inside. Then all the feed came out that would fill the bowl which left too much leftover food which drew wild birds and other critters.

      Next, my husband repaired the flaps and glued a piece of hardware cloth over the chute to exclude mice, but then the lay pellets were too large and would not freely flow out. However, scratch or lay crumbles would probably work.
    • Eva- You can get them cheaper online (even after shipping).
      Janet- Thanks for the important info!! I plan on suspending mine in a mesh bag (I just took the bowl part off) so the feed will disperse over a wider area and also to help keep away pests. This way I should only have to make sure critters can't crawl down into where I have it hanging from.
    • Hi Rachel, if your solution works, could you please post a photo (when you get a chance) so we can see what this new feeding contraption looks like? I would like to try it as well.

      :) Liz
    • Thank yo for the great idea! I have the same exact same issue and have been in a quandry: Petsmart here i come!
  • can you give them the scratch in their coop and lock it up? Nothing you can do about the noise unfortunately. My hens are right outside the bedroom window, so I know what you mean. It usually only lasts for about 5-10 minutes or so for mine though.
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