Quiet Chicken Breeds

I am trying to find a quiet Chicken breed. Every time I think I have found a Chicken breed that is just what I'm looking for, it turns out to be a noisy bird. Surely there are some breeds that are quieter? I need hot weather birds, capable of free ranging, and preferably laying Large eggs.
Edit: I should say that the neighbors have squawky chickens, I believe they are Barred Rocks. I think their coop is probably too small but these are supposed to be quiet chickens.

Hi H,
Most of the chickens I have looked at are cold weather birds, so I may not be much help. The fact of the matter is that while some chickens are quieter than others, I have not seen any that I would define as "quiet". The more calm breeds are probably quieter than the flighty ones. Even if you do not have a rooster, even if you have a low-key breed... the hens can still get loud when they cluck and tell the other hens about laying their eggs.

So I guess my question is why quiet? And why chickens? I have heard that quail are fairly quiet, can be used for meat and eggs (though the eggs are much smaller). Is the quiet because of an HOA/city requirement? Is it just that you don't want noise? Some more information might help us make some alternative suggestions.

Matt McSpadden wrote:Hi H,
So I guess my question is why quiet? And why chickens? I have heard that quail are fairly quiet, can be used for meat and eggs (though the eggs are much smaller). Is the quiet because of an HOA/city requirement? Is it just that you don't want noise? Some more information might help us make some alternative suggestions.

We want quiet simply because we don't want to hear endless squawking, chicken laughing, etc. As I mentioned, our neighbors have chickens and they are loud at least half the time. But we would hopefully keep our chickens more entertained.
We do want Large eggs, so I don't know how well quail would work. However if they are significantly quieter or easier to feed, it might be okay. I haven't even considered quail, but will do something now.
And I chose chickens since they seem more practical than other birds, and with more eggs. I did want ducks but chickens sound easier, plus I have a choice between pekins and Muscovy only.
Ironically, we have tentative plans to keep a rooster, in order to raise chicks on the future. If you have any tips on roosters that do not crow at ridiculously early hours (like 5 AM), that would be much appreciated!

Hi H,
No can help there :), my rooster started around 3am and sometimes would be done by 8-9pm. Haha

But at the same time, I actually felt the hens were louder and more annoying with their clucking about their eggs than the rooster's occasional crowing.

If anyone can develop a chicken breed with consistently quiet roosters they'll be millionaires in short order.

Matt McSpadden wrote:Hi H,
No can help there :), my rooster started around 3am and sometimes would be done by 8-9pm. Haha

But at the same time, I actually felt the hens were louder and more annoying with their clucking about their eggs than the rooster's occasional crowing.

The constant noise is the most annoying for sure. Do you find they are quieter when out of the coop? The neighbors let theirs out for a couple weeks and they were much quieter.
I did look up the quail, and they sound good for meat. However I would have to buy an incubator since they don't hatch their own eggs. Still, might be a good plan for the future. I like the idea of having two sources of meat/eggs in case something happens.

I think many people that have chickens like the sounds they make.  If you don't like chicken noises, maybe just find someone local that you can buy eggs from.  There are other threads about this.  You will probably never recoup the costs for a chicken coop, feed, the chickens themselves, in the money you save on eggs.  People, myself included, usually raise chickens for other less tangible reasons.  One of the biggest is just plain liking chickens.  I find the noises they make soothing.  I love hearing my roosters crowing, love the contented noises chickens make when you give them a treat they like, I find it funny when they squawk their heads off when they lay an egg.  If you don't like those things, you may save yourself time, money, aggravation by just buying eggs from some local farmer.

Forgot to add, I don't believe there are quiet breeds.  Definitely some are quieter than others, but how noisy they are seems to be as much a difference between individuals as between breeds.

Trace Oswald wrote:I think many people that have chickens like the sounds they make.  If you don't like chicken noises, maybe just find someone local that you can buy eggs from.  There are other threads about this.  You will probably never recoup the costs for a chicken coop, feed, the chickens themselves, in the money you save on eggs.  People, myself included, usually raise chickens for other less tangible reasons.  One of the biggest is just plain liking chickens.  I find the noises they make soothing.  I love hearing my roosters crowing, love the contented noises chickens make when you give them a treat they like, I find it funny when they squawk their heads off when they lay an egg.  If you don't like those things, you may save yourself time, money, aggravation by just buying eggs from some local farmer.

Forgot to add, I don't believe there are quiet breeds.  Definitely some are quieter than others, but how noisy they are seems to be as much a difference between individuals as between breeds.

Sustainability as well extreme price fluctuations are good reasons to get chickens. Also, I haven't seen local people sell their eggs for less than the grocery store. Personally, I am not a fan of their squawking but it is not so off-putting that I wouldn't want them. But I know of other people who do not feel that way, so I am hoping that there is a quiet breed, or at least one quieter than the others. Seems like every time I think "Wow sounds like just what I am looking for" it turns out to be a loud chicken. Also a lot of chickens are quite pretty

H Hardenberg wrote:

Trace Oswald wrote:I think many people that have chickens like the sounds they make.  If you don't like chicken noises, maybe just find someone local that you can buy eggs from.  There are other threads about this.  You will probably never recoup the costs for a chicken coop, feed, the chickens themselves, in the money you save on eggs.  People, myself included, usually raise chickens for other less tangible reasons.  One of the biggest is just plain liking chickens.  I find the noises they make soothing.  I love hearing my roosters crowing, love the contented noises chickens make when you give them a treat they like, I find it funny when they squawk their heads off when they lay an egg.  If you don't like those things, you may save yourself time, money, aggravation by just buying eggs from some local farmer.

Forgot to add, I don't believe there are quiet breeds.  Definitely some are quieter than others, but how noisy they are seems to be as much a difference between individuals as between breeds.

Sustainability as well extreme price fluctuations are good reasons to get chickens. Also, I haven't seen local people sell their eggs for less than the grocery store. Personally, I am not a fan of their squawking but it is not so off-putting that I wouldn't want them. But I know of other people who do not feel that way, so I am hoping that there is a quiet breed, or at least one quieter than the others. Seems like every time I think "Wow sounds like just what I am looking for" it turns out to be a loud chicken. Also a lot of chickens are quite pretty

Australorps and Orpingtons are pretty quiet, but like I said, individuals birds vary a lot.  I have Russian Orloffs now and they are very quiet so far, but they lay a lot less eggs than some breeds.

H Hardenberg wrote: Also, I haven't seen local people sell their eggs for less than the grocery store.

You may not be able to find them cheaper than grocery store eggs, but many people prefer farm fresh eggs that are raised in better conditions than the factory chickens are raised in.  That's why I suggested buying from a local farmer, not to save money.

From https://www.omlet.co.uk/guide/chickens/choosing_your_chickens/quiet_chicken_breeds/

Amongst the breeds reckoned to be the quietest are:
Ameraucana
Australorp
Brahma
Buff Orpington
Cochin
Java
Nankin Bantam
Plymouth Rock Bantam
Rhode Island Red
Rosecomb Bantam
Sebright Bantam
Wyandotte
From [url=https://www.thehappychickencoop.com/the-quietest-chicken-breeds-for-every-purpose/#:~:text=The%20Quietest%20Dual%20Purpose%20Chicken&text=You%20guessed%20it%2C%20the%20Buff,when%20it%27s%20ready%20for%20processing.]Quite breeds for eggs and meat[/url]
"Keep them safe from predators so they don’t have to alert and alarm each other when they’re in danger.
Make sure they always have enough food and water…they’ll let you know if they don’t.
Ensure that each rooster has plenty of hens to call his own. Too many roosters and not enough hens will cause a stir. (The exact number may vary depending on your individual flock, but I usually keep at least 6 hens for every rooster).
Don’t keep roosters…sadly, they are the ones making the loudest noise in the poultry world. If you want less noise, you can cut the rooster from the flock.
Have enough nesting boxes for your hens so they don’t cackle and squabble over a place to lay their eggs when the urge is upon them. (Usually, 1 box to every 3-4 hens should be fine)"

And "The Quietest Dual Purpose Chicken
Want a quiet chicken that both lays well and provides meat? You guessed it, the Buff Orpington is your go-to, quiet, dual-purpose breed.
A Buff Orpington will lay approximately 250 eggs per year and is ready to butcher at about 6 months.
A Buff Orpington will weight approximately 8 lbs when it’s ready for processing.
While the carcass of a Buff Orpington will not be as visually pleasing as the Cornish Cross meat bird, it tastes just as good (if not better).
Buff Orpington skin can be white, depending on the variety, but it often is more of a yellowish tint, which can be off-putting for those used to the grocery store broiler. "

Trace Oswald wrote:I think many people that have chickens like the sounds they make.  If you don't like chicken noises, maybe just find someone local that you can buy eggs from.  There are other threads about this.  You will probably never recoup the costs for a chicken coop, feed, the chickens themselves, in the money you save on eggs.  People, myself included, usually raise chickens for other less tangible reasons.  One of the biggest is just plain liking chickens.  I find the noises they make soothing.  I love hearing my roosters crowing, love the contented noises chickens make when you give them a treat they like, I find it funny when they squawk their heads off when they lay an egg.  If you don't like those things, you may save yourself time, money, aggravation by just buying eggs from some local farmer.

Forgot to add, I don't believe there are quiet breeds.  Definitely some are quieter than others, but how noisy they are seems to be as much a difference between individuals as between breeds.

Lots of people would LOVE to have chickens but can't because of the noise factor.  They might personally be perfectly fine with whatever noises the birds make but sometimes neighbors are not, and/or there are local ordinances or HOA restrictions regarding noise even from hens.  I live in a neighborhood of multi-acre lots.  One of the neighbors goes crazy when a rooster, even 3+ lots away, is crowing.  If we were a more typical neighborhood with 20-50x the density of houses I can only imagine the conflicts that could happen.  We have 1 rooster left (given how many hens there are, when he dies it'll be with a smile) and he's collared 100% of the time.  I hate doing that, but my oldest doesn't want us to eat him, or rehome him.  Eventually she'll go to college and the rooster can slip and fall into a dutch oven with a bottle of red wine and some veg.  Anyway, even when outside I can barely hear other neighbor's roosters, but they will still complain.   When that neighbor was HOA president they tried to write into the bylaws (without proper votes) that crowing roosters weren't allowed.  The neighborhood is damn lucky we didn't get sued into oblivion.  That by-laws situation has been corrected (roosters are still allowed), but it just goes to show how passionate some people are about their dislike of rooster crowing.

I hardly notice the hens making their noises anymore.  But I would be more welcoming of roosters if they weren't any noisier than the hens.  I don't really like being woken up 2 hours before dawn by them crowing.  I know it doesn't bother some people, but it bothers enough that my prior statement about the wealth available to someone that develops a breed with quiet roosters stands.

Andrew Mayflower wrote:

Trace Oswald wrote:I think many people that have chickens like the sounds they make.  If you don't like chicken noises, maybe just find someone local that you can buy eggs from.  There are other threads about this.  You will probably never recoup the costs for a chicken coop, feed, the chickens themselves, in the money you save on eggs.  People, myself included, usually raise chickens for other less tangible reasons.  One of the biggest is just plain liking chickens.  I find the noises they make soothing.  I love hearing my roosters crowing, love the contented noises chickens make when you give them a treat they like, I find it funny when they squawk their heads off when they lay an egg.  If you don't like those things, you may save yourself time, money, aggravation by just buying eggs from some local farmer.

Forgot to add, I don't believe there are quiet breeds.  Definitely some are quieter than others, but how noisy they are seems to be as much a difference between individuals as between breeds.

Lots of people would LOVE to have chickens but can't because of the noise factor.  They might personally be perfectly fine with whatever noises the birds make but sometimes neighbors are not, and/or there are local ordinances or HOA restrictions regarding noise even from hens.  I live in a neighborhood of multi-acre lots.  One of the neighbors goes crazy when a rooster, even 3+ lots away, is crowing.  If we were a more typical neighborhood with 20-50x the density of houses I can only imagine the conflicts that could happen.  We have 1 rooster left (given how many hens there are, when he dies it'll be with a smile) and he's collared 100% of the time.  I hate doing that, but my oldest doesn't want us to eat him, or rehome him.  Eventually she'll go to college and the rooster can slip and fall into a dutch oven with a bottle of red wine and some veg.  Anyway, even when outside I can barely hear other neighbor's roosters, but they will still complain.   When that neighbor was HOA president they tried to write into the bylaws (without proper votes) that crowing roosters weren't allowed.  The neighborhood is damn lucky we didn't get sued into oblivion.  That by-laws situation has been corrected (roosters are still allowed), but it just goes to show how passionate some people are about their dislike of rooster crowing.

I hardly notice the hens making their noises anymore.  But I would be more welcoming of roosters if they weren't any noisier than the hens.  I don't really like being woken up 2 hours before dawn by them crowing.  I know it doesn't bother some people, but it bothers enough that my prior statement about the wealth available to someone that develops a breed with quiet roosters stands.

Most townships and larger areas don't allow roosters for that very reason.

The OP didn't mention anything about bothering the neighbors, rather that even the neighbors' hens make too much noise.  To me, that is a person that probably just shouldn't have chickens.

Have you looked at Bresse or Norwegian Jearhons? The Bresse is a brown egg layer that forages pretty well and is pretty quiet, although they are built for more cold climates they do well in heat as well. The Jearhons are both heat and cold hardy, forage well, are pretty quiet, and lay large eggs with good consistency. Australorps, Easter Eggers, White Rocks, and New Hampshires are also fairly quiet and good layers that forage fairly well. Pic of one of my Jearhon hens and Bresse roosters for a reference, since they are more rare breeds (and I like sharing pictures of my birds, lol).

Trace Oswald wrote:
Australorps and Orpingtons are pretty quiet, but like I said, individuals birds vary a lot.  I have Russian Orloffs now and they are very quiet so far, but they lay a lot less eggs than some breeds.

Like you, Trace, we enjoy our chicken sounds - except for the one roo that has a penchant for crowing under our bedroom window at 4am, lol. I've not had Russian Orloffs, but I do keep the Buffs & Aussies, as well as Barred Rock & Gold Comets.  Personally, I think all 4 of ours are relatively quiet - except the roosters, of course. But, when the girls are most likely to be heard, it's in the nesting boxes, while they're laying, because that is when they feel it's imperative to 'sing to us the songs of their peoples'. Otherwise, I think they're pretty quiet, softly clucking on occasion.

I have noticed - small crest or feathered feet means quieter birds. My Cochin was very quiet, so are French Feverolles. Orloffs also seem to make no sounds so far.

Thank you everyone. I haven't gotten notifications of replies, I don't know why. So I was surprised to see more comments! I will be looking into the breeds you have mentioned. It's late, or I would have done it already. I am considering ordering the Chick assortment from Sand Hill Preservation, and keep the ones we like.
As to Trace's comment that I probably shouldn't have chickens, it's not particularly me that has the problem. It is occasionally annoying but that's okay. Also, I believe the neighbors chickens are penned in a coop too small for them, thus making more insistent squawking? (Guessing here, but seems reasonable to me) And in the world we live in, with an economy going down the drain, and egg prices sky high, is it any wonder someone would want to put up with chickens in order to have a little sustainability or ease the grocery bill a little.

I believe in culling for traits I find undesirable.  I used to keep 30 hens and assorted roosters.  I started with a few of this and a few of that.  It’s easier to tell WHO is making the noise under the bedroom window in the night … who is cutting back into the hedge when I am trying to put them in for the night, or fighting a lot.  Just chickens being chickens, but I am allowed to have my preferences, and when I can identify who is making my life harder, then I make a mental note for next time I am killing chickens.

Buff Orpingtons are good for going broody, and hatching a clutch for eggs, and raising them.  Not the only ones, I am just seconding the nomination, as it were.  

I enjoy having chickens around.  I don’t know what squawking is. Clucking crowing and egg announcements I am familiar with.  Alarms for communicating danger & distress I know and recognize.  The rooster finding a food treasure and calling the hens is familiar. When I think about what squawking might be, I think maybe that’s a sign - as someone said- that the birds are too crowded, poor things, and with limited resources no one ever has enough, so they’re all stressed.

I think if the OP is generous in the size of the enclosure, and does what’s needed for chicken quality of life, then the birds won’t be so noisy.  And if you do get a loud one or an aggressive one, then remember who it is volunteering to be your next stewing hen!

Breed does have something to do with egg size, but so does age.  Older  hens tend to lay larger eggs.

For an example of what I mean by chicken quality of life, I planted grape vines to go up the side of the chicken run and over the top where I had a full enclosure tall enough for me to stand up and walk around in. The grapevines grew over the top of that giving shade in the summer and allowing for sun in the winter. The grapevines grew down through the chicken wire ceiling, and sometimes bunches of grapes were hanging down. I loved watching the chickens get underneath and jump up to grab a grape. I had two or three adjacent runs so that I could open little chicken doors and they could have different chicken living rooms. Their house was a fair distance from my house, not too far to walk but far enough away I didn’t have flies and all their conversations were muffled by the distance.  I am one who enjoys having the company of chickens, therefore, they aren’t too loud or too inconvenient or expensive to keep.  It’s just more friends to talk to and brighten my day.

H Hardenberg wrote:Thank you everyone. I haven't gotten notifications of replies, I don't know why. So I was surprised to see more comments!

If you scroll to the bottom of this page and tap on watch settings, you can select to receive an email when there are replies.

I have Orpington hens (no rooster - gave up on that after the first experience) and think they are wonderful birds, pretty, lay well and produce a large carcass. With that has come frequent complaints from neighbors about how noisy they are. When the current generation age out, I will definitely choose a different breed going forward.

In the last couple of years, I limited the noise problem for neighbors by purchasing automatic doors from Omlet and setting opening and closing hours pretty aggressively, so the chickens were confined inside their coop doing the times when people are likely to be most sensitive to the noise (dawn and dusk).

My short foray into rooster keeping had mixed results. I tried to keep their noise down using 'no crow' collars. The roosters themselves tolerated wearing them pretty well, and it definitely keep the noise down, but the hens hated having their rooster wearing anything and were very clever at working them off their boy (even with the fasteners taped shut). I think they viewed the challenge as "enrichment". There was seldom a time during the day when one hen or another was not working on the issue,

For those not familiar with a 'no-crow' collar, its band about an inch wide that goes around the rooster's neck and fastens with velcro, They are not applied tightly, not even what you'd call 'snug'. The way it works is that to crow, the rooster needs to expand his neck into a reverberation chamber. The collar allows full range of normal movement, and vocalisation, but stops that neck expansion. Basically the rooster is limited to a sound level equivalent to the noise level a hen makes,

Typically, the hens would succeed in removing the rooster's collar about 5 am once or twice a week, and then I'd be out early catching the rooster to confine him in a shed so he couldn't be heard so much. It was too much trouble in the end when I could buy hatching eggs and have the fun of raising and taming the chicks myself.

We have Brahmas crossbred with Thai fighting chicken.
They are not too loud exempt the daily egg song.

My fiance and I raised 5 chickens - and 2 roosters, his mistake - several years ago in the city limits. The noisiest of the crew were the 2 roosters (1 of these was a bantam), but this isn't what caused ire among our neighbors. it was when my fiance let the critters out of their coop - which he built - and they got in the neighbors' yards.  Personally, I found the crowing every morning at 4-ish to be very annoying, that and the big red rooster trying to attack us every time we fed them. When we move out west to settle on our land, we plan to raise goats and possibly sheep - no more chickens, I guess, unless there are desert breeds.

We free range our hens and I believe they are quieter because they don't want the predators to notice them. We've got americauna crosses and a pretty white hen of unknown parentage. My parents' chickens are much louder because they are penned much of the day to keep them safe from their dogs which weren't properly trained to be chicken guardians (my parents are older and didn't have the energy to train). The chickens have a large pen, but it's still a pen with no greenery and they tend to squabble and get bored while they are waiting for their turn to roam free outside.

I read through a few of the posts, but I want to say how awesome quail are. I chose quail because I didn’t want my birds to bring any attention to our yard. The hens are quieter than crickets. I had 17 quail in my garage in the brooder (almost fully grown) and the cricket in there was exponentially louder.

I have a few males. One in particular was quite loud when he crowed. He has since gone to freezer camp. My other males crow much softly and much more melodic- more like the wild birds. Plus most people have no idea what quail look or sound like.

As far as feed goes, I believe my 40lb bag of feed lasts at least a month for 23 quail— maybe longer.  They’re much more bang for you buck as far as feed goes, imo. While their eggs are 1/3 the size, you can keep 3 times as many quail in a tiny space, roughly 1sqft per bird, but mine like to be all up on each other anyway.

They’re super easy to dispatch and butcher too. No special equipment needed. Just a sharp pair of scissors.

Perhaps the answer to having fresh eggs and relative quiet isn't chickens at all, but ducks! They do make some noises, and need more water than chickens, if only an extra bucket to clean their faces and heads when eating, but I understand the eggs they lay are much richer and larger than the average chicken egg.

Something to look into at the very least!

Deedee Dezso wrote:Perhaps the answer to having fresh eggs and relative quiet isn't chickens at all, but ducks!

I have Khaki Campbell ducks which are a breed of Pekin, and their nickname is "Noisy Ducks". They are maybe quieter than a crowing rooster, but I think they're noisier than the average hen. That said, some noises bother people in different ways, and they do lay wonderful eggs and eat slugs.

We also have Muscovy Ducks. They are very quiet, very personable and friendly, but they're 'clutch layers', so inconsistent at providing eggs. I have heard that if you only have a couple of females, they do better at producing eggs without trying to go broody. In general, Muscovy live to breed and are more of a meat bird (delicious) than an egg producer.

I've had just about all of the more common breeds of chickens, and some less-common ones, and I've had ducks.  I wouldn't say that any of them are quiet.  Ducks quack a lot, hens do the hen-song.  Personally, I enjoy all of the 'noise,' including roosters crowing at 3 am (although my current roosters are more considerate and wait until closer to 6 am, which is fine because I'm usually awake by then anyway).  But I really think that if someone is bothered by the sounds that poultry make, they'd do better to get quail.  They sound more like song-birds, other than minor crowing (compared to chicken roosters).  I'm hoping to add some quail to my homestead soon -- have hatching eggs coming today or tomorrow.  This will be the first time I've had them, but I'm looking forward to it.  If they work out, they may eventually replace all of our chickens other than a small flock of bantams.  My reasoning is that -- if they work out (I'm waiting to be convinced), they should be dual-purpose birds, with a fast turn-around from hatching to lay or butcher size.  I have a shed to keep them in, they won't be outside at all.  I can't free-range my chicken flock here anyway, so it seems like I might as well go with something that does better in confinement.

H Hardenberg wrote:I am trying to find a quiet Chicken breed. Every time I think I have found a Chicken breed that is just what I'm looking for, it turns out to be a noisy bird. Surely there are some breeds that are quieter? I need hot weather birds, capable of free ranging, and preferably laying Large eggs.
.

The only chicken breed we have ever raised has been Rhode Island Reds.  We are in Sunny Texas so these Reds are used to hot weather.

Reds lay nice large brown eggs.  Nice meat chickens, too.

As far as I know, the Reds can free-range.

Are they quiet?  Probably if folks don't have a rooster.

The only time I remember them being noisy is just before laying an egg, though don't all chickens do that?

H Hardenberg wrote:

Matt McSpadden wrote:Hi H,
So I guess my question is why quiet? And why chickens? I have heard that quail are fairly quiet, can be used for meat and eggs (though the eggs are much smaller). Is the quiet because of an HOA/city requirement? Is it just that you don't want noise? Some more information might help us make some alternative suggestions.

We want quiet simply because we don't want to hear endless squawking, chicken laughing, etc. As I mentioned, our neighbors have chickens and they are loud at least half the time. But we would hopefully keep our chickens more entertained.
We do want Large eggs, so I don't know how well quail would work. However if they are significantly quieter or easier to feed, it might be okay. I haven't even considered quail, but will do something now.
And I chose chickens since they seem more practical than other birds, and with more eggs. I did want ducks but chickens sound easier, plus I have a choice between pekins and Muscovy only.
Ironically, we have tentative plans to keep a rooster, in order to raise chicks on the future. If you have any tips on roosters that do not crow at ridiculously early hours (like 5 AM), that would be much appreciated!

OR, how about ducks??? There would be a quack-quack here, a quack-quack there, but no all day long quack-quacks everywhere! AND, I've never heard of a crowing duck. I do know that ducks can be noisy especially at feeding times or at being herded anywhere.

Just for fun, let me mention that I kept Guinea fowl for years, up to thirty.  Their vocalizations make every other homestead bird seem quiet!😊

I found them to be definitely worth keeping for their control of insects, and prevention of grasshopper or locust population reaching plagues levels, even though they also behaved like a gang of thugs and bullies.  

Thekla McDaniels wrote:Just for fun, let me mention that I kept Guinea fowl for years, up to thirty.  Their vocalizations make every other homestead bird seem quiet!😊
I found them to be definitely worth keeping for their control of insects, and prevention of grasshopper or locust population reaching plagues levels, even though they also behaved like a gang of thugs and bullies.  

And Guineas make absolutely GREAT property guards. I went on a milk pick-up with my older brother long ago and I still remember the noise those Guineas made because I stepped out of the truck. My brother told me that after they had gotten used to him as the driver of the milk truck they rarely squawked. But, since I was the newbie they actually came after me too.

Noisey? YES, without doubt! But usually for a reason too.

If your looking for quiet chickens, you probably shouldn't have any,  I love the sounds my chickens make, mostly when they roost, but they are loud when they lay eggs, just the way it is.  So if you want eggs, its just something you get along with the territory.  Just think of breakfast while they cluck. Good luck

I have raised Black Sexlink chickens and they were fairly quiet. I bought all pullets, because I didn't want to raise chicks or listen to the rooster crow. They are a very large chicken that lays almost all double yolk eggs; mine did anyway. They are heavy and make a lot of meat. It really all boils down to what you are willing to tolerate. If you are going to raise something, you are going to have some kind of sound, that's just what goes with it. Pigs squeal, cows moo and chickens squawk. Get a few of all of them and you will have an orchestra.

Andrew Mayflower wrote:

Trace Oswald wrote:I think many people that have chickens like the sounds they make.  If you don't like chicken noises, maybe just find someone local that you can buy eggs from.  There are other threads about this.  You will probably never recoup the costs for a chicken coop, feed, the chickens themselves, in the money you save on eggs.  People, myself included, usually raise chickens for other less tangible reasons.  One of the biggest is just plain liking chickens.  I find the noises they make soothing.  I love hearing my roosters crowing, love the contented noises chickens make when you give them a treat they like, I find it funny when they squawk their heads off when they lay an egg.  If you don't like those things, you may save yourself time, money, aggravation by just buying eggs from some local farmer.

Forgot to add, I don't believe there are quiet breeds.  Definitely some are quieter than others, but how noisy they are seems to be as much a difference between individuals as between breeds.

Lots of people would LOVE to have chickens but can't because of the noise factor.  They might personally be perfectly fine with whatever noises the birds make but sometimes neighbors are not, and/or there are local ordinances or HOA restrictions regarding noise even from hens.  I live in a neighborhood of multi-acre lots.  One of the neighbors goes crazy when a rooster, even 3+ lots away, is crowing.  If we were a more typical neighborhood with 20-50x the density of houses I can only imagine the conflicts that could happen.  We have 1 rooster left (given how many hens there are, when he dies it'll be with a smile) and he's collared 100% of the time.  I hate doing that, but my oldest doesn't want us to eat him, or rehome him.  Eventually she'll go to college and the rooster can slip and fall into a dutch oven with a bottle of red wine and some veg.  Anyway, even when outside I can barely hear other neighbor's roosters, but they will still complain.   When that neighbor was HOA president they tried to write into the bylaws (without proper votes) that crowing roosters weren't allowed.  The neighborhood is damn lucky we didn't get sued into oblivion.  That by-laws situation has been corrected (roosters are still allowed), but it just goes to show how passionate some people are about their dislike of rooster crowing.

I hardly notice the hens making their noises anymore.  But I would be more welcoming of roosters if they weren't any noisier than the hens.  I don't really like being woken up 2 hours before dawn by them crowing.  I know it doesn't bother some people, but it bothers enough that my prior statement about the wealth available to someone that develops a breed with quiet roosters stands.

Times have changed. We’re in a food crisis that doesn’t look like it’s going to be resolved anytime soon. All you HOA residents need to get on your boards and start allowing laying hens. There are no HOA’s banning dogs because they bark, children because they scream, cars because they could lose a muffler, lawnmowers, chainsaws, and other equipment because they’re all loud, too. Has no one ever worked overnights and try to sleep during the day? Come on - really, now.

That being said, when my chickens aren’t crowing or laying, they’re pretty quiet. The only other times they are loud is if there’s something wrong or they really want something.

I would absolutely consider getting ducks, though I have a question about them. How yo to feed them outside of buying feed? Or at least half and half. I figured chickens were easier. I am only able to get pekins or Muscovy. And thats a good point that they don't crow.