Screaming Silkies

Hey all!

We started our chicken journey fairly small. 3 silkie hens.

We got silkies because we live in a fairly urban area and I have neighbours close by, and we read that silkies were on the quieter side. That was a lie.

They live in a 6x9 covered run, with a 3.5x2 insulated coop on stilts (so they have space on the ground underneath). They have an automatic door so they are out in the run first thing every morning. In the summer they spend most days outside in our fenced yard.

The problem is, if we aren't home or awake to let them out from the run and into the yard, they scream bloody murder. All three of them will sit there and spend 5-10 mins screaming in unison. Then they'll tire out and start over again 20 mins later.

It stops when I let them out of the run to free range so I assume I've somehow created this monster by spoiling them with that "luxury".

Nevertheless, I suspect my neighbours are starting to hate me. And winter is coming so they will only have coop/run access now, with no more yard access for 6 months.

I'm afraid it'll be 6 months of screaming if I don't figure something out.

Has anyone had luck nipping this in the bud? What can I do to reduce to screaming behaviour?

Hello Sheldon!

Welcome to permies!

I used to have roosters like that.  They would scream at me every time I went out to the garden.   It was terrible.   I was able to train them a bit by spraying them with the hose.

You might be able to set up a sprinkler so they get sprayed but do not see that you are doing it.


Since winter is coming, you might be able to put up some sound deadening walls around your run.  You can stuff pallets with wool or mud and straw.  That will help contain the sound in the run area.

I used this technique around my geese when they were nesting.  They get pretty loud and it helps a lot.


Good luck!

My quails were louder in the beginning when the aviary was new to them and they didn't feel safe. Much calmer now. I would cover the walls with something especially at the bottom, so that animals can't spook them that much. Also, looks like rats can get in there easily.

This video suggest maybe you need a rooster:

Flora Eerschay wrote:My quails were louder in the beginning when the aviary was new to them and they didn't feel safe. Much calmer now. I would cover the walls with something especially at the bottom, so that animals can't spook them that much. Also, looks like rats can get in there easily.

This was an older photo, we have since turned it into Fort Knox because you're right, rats got in there very easily lol. The size is the same but now there's no way in (we even dug out the dirt and buried hardware cloth).

We usually put clear tarps around the run in the winter but I suspect this year I may need to use not-so-clear ones to block their line of sight a bit.