I see what you mean...

We do often- well, usually- end up going out there in an effort to quiet things down... in essence rewarding their bad behavior.  

I think we had talkative girls to start with and we ended up catering to them.  

Once in a while a cat will be on the fence checking them out, but I can kind of tell when they are in defense mode and when they are just in a "come keep me company" mode.  I don't think there is anything else disturbing them, at least not as often as they are crazy.

How trainable are chickens at this age?  They are not quite one and a half.  If we start ignoring them (except when I think there is actually a problem) will they chill out if they aren't getting what they want?  Has anyone tried this?  I don't think I could do it for long, but if I knew it would take 2 weeks of a nightmare of noise I could do it.  It is hard to just let them go nuts and NOT go out there!

Melissa

--- In thecitychicken@yahoogroups.com <mailto:thecitychicken%40yahoogroups.com> , Julie Webster <webster@...> wrote:
>
> When they make noise, do you go out and spend time with them? Do you  
> feed them? Give them treats? Pet them?
>
> They may be making the noise to get you out there with them. It  
> sounds like they are training you to Come when they call... LOL but  
> true...
>
> I think the habit is ingrained in these chickens. They yell, you come  
> and stay with them and they like it. When you don't come and stay  
> with them, they keep yelling until you do. They know what they are  
> doing.
>
> You may want to re-home these, and start over with adult hens that  
> are known to be quiet.
>
> If you start over with chicks, don't come running to them when they  
> yell for you. That's when you need to be able to tell the difference  
> between a "Where Are You?" cackle, and "There's A Dog In The Yard!"  
> cackle.
>
> Or, you could put the hens in a large dog crate in the garage over  
> night. They would be less-likely to disturb you or your neighbors.
>
> Also, try talking with the neighbors. They may think the 'yelling' is  
> kinda cool and like it.
>
> Good Luck with your Noisy Girls!
> Julie in NW Oregon
>