Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens by Gail Damerow Read Free Book Online

accompanied by a peck — for instance to a human hand reaching under the hen to retrieve a fresh egg.
Its meaning:
“Don’t mess with me.”
    Singing is the sound of happy hens. The notes are usually rapidly repeated but are sometimes drawn out. The purpose of singing is likely self-amusement, akin to a human’s humming while doing dishes or singing in the shower. If I linger in the barn after feeding, I am sure to be serenaded by a chorus of cheerfully singing hens.
Its meaning:
“All is well.”
Social Sounds
    Chickens use a variety of sounds to maintain social contact. The general purpose is likely to ensure flock cohesion and to keep individuals from straying into the jaws or clutches of a predator.
    Contentment call is a low-pitched sound repeated by both cocks and hens when they are safe and comfortable. They make this sound while actively moving around but not intensely foraging. It probably works to keep them in touch with one another so none are left behind as they travel.
Its meaning:
“Let’s stick together.”
    Nesting call is used by a hen looking for a site she feels is suitable for laying eggs. A cock will make a similar, but more intensely excited, sound to show a hen a potential nest site, which might be a gap between bales of straw or a nook behind an opened door. While he gabbles, he nestles into the spot as if he is going to lay an egg himself. A lot of times the cock is ignored, but occasionally ahen will check out the spot he’s found and create a duet by responding with her own song. The sound is more common to pullets and cockerels but also comes from mature hens that resume laying after a rest period.
Its meaning:
“Here’s a good place to lay an egg.”
    Roosting call is a low-pitched, rapidly repeated sound made at nightfall when chickens are ready to roost. A large flock can make quite a racket, but it doesn’t last long. The function of this call is to ensure that all the chickens roost together for safety’s sake.
Its meaning:
“Let’s sleep here.”
Cock Talk
    Roosters have a colorful vocabulary covering a wide range of activities. They seem to enjoy being the center of attention, as many of their sounds attract attention to themselves.
    Food call , similar to that of a hen calling her chicks, is used by a cock to call hens to him. He’ll use this excited, rapid
tuck-tuck-tuck
sound to tell the hens he has found something tasty, such as a patch of grain thrown on the ground. He might repeatedly pick up and drop a bug or a piece of fruit, a practice known as
tidbitting
, or hold a piece for a hen to take from his beak. Sometimes a cock will give a less excited food call on encountering feathers and other debris raked together during yard cleanup.
Its meaning:
“Come see what I found.”
    Courtship croon is the low sound a cock makes when he circles a hen while flicking one wing against the ground. Sometimes a cock will attract a hen to himself with the food call, even with no food evident, and when a hen gets near enough, he’ll start the courtship song and dance. Of course, he can’t often be so deceitful or the hens will soon catch on and stop being fooled.
Its meaning:
“Let’s mate.”
    Flying object alert is a sound a cock makes when he sees a high-flying bird or airplane overhead. He makes this sound while turning his head to look upward with one eye. Some of the other chickens may look up to see what he’s looking at.
Its meaning:
“Something’s up there, but it doesn’t look dangerous.”
    Startled note is a short sound a cock makes when startled or surprised. The intensity of the sound varies, or the sound may be repeated, depending on how startled the bird is. The sound might be triggered, for example, by asphalt shingles heaved down by a roofing crew or by any sudden nearby noise that disturbs a rooster at rest.
Its meaning:
“What was that?”
    Crowing is an assertion of maleness. A rooster flapping his wings and stretching his neck in a mighty crow is akin to