Why do chickens trill

When putting them in for the night, I sometimes listen to the coop chatter as they settle down for the night; murmuring, trills, and contented sounds abound. A broody hen is unmistakable. She has laid her eggs and is now sitting, waiting for them to hatch.

Yes, chickens can growl! This is the warning to stay away from her, her hormones are raging, and she wants to be a Mama. Some broodies will scream at you, rather like a tantrum or hissy fit. This, combined with the fluffed up and evil look, is designed to keep you away! Broodies do get off the nest about once a day, usually. During this time, she will be fluffed up, bad-tempered, and clucking urgently and constantly. If you stop and watch her, all the other hens will move out of her way and give her plenty of space.

When you see a flock of chickens moving across the yard, you will usually hear a low murmuring sound. Hens will generally range within earshot of each other , they can hear each other, and if anyone sounds the alarm, they know instantly where the alarm came from. Chickens have a very sophisticated range of alarms for danger. There are distinct calls for aerial predators and ground predators.

If your flock starts to make urgent cackling and appears to be agitated — investigate! Although you may not be able to detect the danger, you can be sure something upset them. The appearance of a human will usually deter most predators from having chicken for lunch.

The talking between a mother hen and her chicks starts before they are even born! She will cluck and purr softly while sitting on the eggs or moving them around under her. Towards the final hours of the hatch, you can hear them talking back to their Mama. In this way, she encourages them to break out of the shell and reassurance that they are safe. It has also been proven that Mother hens can modify their teaching of the chicks based on their understanding and aptitude. If the chick is a slow learner, Mama will slow down the speed of the lessons until the chick understands.

Researchers believe that this shows empathy , something that chickens have in common with humans and primates. The chicks will either freeze in position or run to Mama for protection. She can also use a soft, low-pitched clucking to warn her chicks to be still. If you have raised chicks without a Mama, you will need to listen carefully to the sounds they make — they can tell you a lot.

Soft peeps and trills are contented sounds. They are happy with life. If you hear high-pitched insistent peeps, something is wrong. This alerts the chick to a tasty morsel. To encourage eating it, she will pick it up and drop it a few times until the chick gets the idea. It is generally reserved for special items such as treats. If one of your chatty birds is not talking, somethings not right. Chickens can get depressed, but it is usually over an event in her life.

Maybe she had to be isolated for a while — as a social creature, this is traumatic for her. Everyone is allowed their point of view, but increasingly science shows just how wrong our assumptions have been about animals and birds and their ability to communicate. Allow yourself to sit and spend time with your birds. Watch their interactions, listen to their conversations; you will be amazed at what you learn!

I have one that sounds like she is laughing. I have another that cops like a baby. If I do it to her she does it back. I love to sit and listen to them. Loved this article! I have one chicken that I feel so bad for because when I go to the coop to make sure they are accounted for there is always this one hen that sits all by her self at the opposite end of the roost.

All the other hens are at the other end snuggled in with omlet my rooster. Loved the article on chicken noises. I have three chooks and when I clean their coop there is always one watching me and chatting to me.

She sounds happy that I am cleaning up the coop. She is probably also telling me that I missed a spot. Hi, We have three laying hens and one white Silkie who sadly is the bottom of the pecking order although generally the bossy black one and one of the red hens peck at her she seems ok.

They was all purchased at a chook farm together and my granddaughter fell in love with Stuffing as she named the Silkie re: looking like the stuffing that comes out of the soft toys the dog ripped up. We were not aware of different breeds not the best together.

However, little Stuffing has laid a few eggs and was broody. We left her in a separate pen, large enough within the main run until she finally got the message no eggs, no chicks. She is laying again. Their regular chatter is a dipping and rising peep which serves to keep them together. Their peeps escalate into rising trills when excited and falling trills when frightened. Fear calls are high pitched and quavering.

Mother hens advertise a suitable food source with a rapid kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk-kuk while picking up and dropping food pieces. Chicks instinctively get the message and run in peeping excitedly. The rooster gives a similar call and display when finding food if there is a hen in the vicinity but some distance away. The better the food, the more excited his call. When she is nearby, his call is lower and more rapid: gog-gog-gog-gog-gog.

He uses this low call to court a hen, while he drops his wing and encircles her. It is often followed by a low moan. The feeding display is part of his courtship routine, to demonstrate his value as a provider. He will also court her by calling her to potential nest sites. He uses a low-pitched, repetitive call tsuk-tsuk-tsuk or a purr for this purpose. The rapid kuk-kuk-kuk food call has been shown in experimental conditions to be made when anticipating a food treat or access to a dust bath, another highly valued resource.

It is also made by hens in adult company, so perhaps can be interpreted as a call to share a precious finding. Hens are interested in sharing with their flockmates, as foraging in groups provides protection from predators. Roosters also display their worth by protecting the flock from chicken predators , mainly by keeping an eye out for danger and sounding a warning when appropriate. A sudden alert call baak-bak-bak-bak warns of possible danger, without being so loud as to attract a predator.

A more urgent threat from the ground or the trees is signaled by sharp cut-cut-cut noises followed by a loud, high-pitched squawk. A predator in the air is signaled by a very loud, high-pitched scream. These calls are moderated by the amount of protection the caller has and which chickens are in earshot. The rooster makes more calls when close to cover and in the presence of females. His audience understands the different calls and act appropriately: hiding under cover from an aerial predator; and standing tall and alert for a ground predator.

Chickens that are captured emit long, loud, repeated squawks of distress: perhaps of warning, or as a cry for help. If a rooster pays unwanted attention to an unwilling hen, she only gives the distress call if a dominant rooster is present to obstruct his advances. These chicken noises demonstrate how chickens use sounds to convey meaning and intention.

As a social species, their emotions invoke calls that are helpful for negotiating cooperation or hierarchy. Warning hisses and growls are issued by broody hens that are protecting eggs and want to be left undisturbed.

An unreceptive hen may growl if approached by a male. Both males and females issue quiet, low growls of warning when in competition with each other, preceding a peck. Instinctively, we may recognize some vocal expressions. For example, pain is expressed by a quick, sharp squawk. These notes may be heard if a chicken is penned in, cannot access feed or her favorite nest site, or is prevented from performing essential behavior routines.

In contrast, the contented chicken noises of a community of foragers are characterized by soft, low, tuneful gurgles and grunts. As she searches for a nest and prepares to lay, a hen may emit soft gurgles and purrs. Too many hens trying to lay at the same time may set up a chorus of gakels.

This growl is trying to tell you to get away, and get away fast — she is surging with hormones and wants nothing to do with you. Occasionally, a broody hen will scream more loudly at you, turning her grumble into a full-blown, enraged tantrum.

She might also puff up her feathers and peck at you until you leave. If a broody hen gets off her eggs of her own accord either to eat or to steal a drink of water she will likely be miserable.

This is one of the easiest ways to identify through your hearing whether your chickens are safe and happy or not. Chickens usually like to remain within earshot of each other while they graze. As a result, they will let out frequent low murmurs or chatters to make sure they can hear each other. If you domesticate your chickens either for showing purpose or for keeping as pets, you may also recognize this kind of noise from when you groom them or keep them on your lap.

If you pet your chicken, you can tell it is happy because it will make some low, contented noises, too. A predator call will sound differently between a hen and a rooster, but it will usually be very high, very loud, and very shrill. You might hear a caution call, which sounds like rapidly repeated notes.

Another call you might hear is a repeated alarm noise. This sounds like a repeated cackle and is an even stronger sign that a predator is nearby. This is the most alarming noise that you can hear your chickens make, and it is likely one that will send you scrambling out to the chicken coop with whatever weapon you can find!

This noise signals that the flock is in imminent danger. You might hear this noise if a raccoon has made its way into the run, a hawk is circling overhead, or a possum is lurking nearby. The bottom line is this: if you hear a noise that sounds panicky and is in any way out of the ordinary, check on your chickens immediately.

There are two ways a mother hen might talk to her babies: while they are still in the egg, and long after they have hatched. Did you know that mother hens will begin talking to their chicks, even long before they have hatched? Just like a mother talks to her baby while she is pregnant, a mother hen will also chatter to her chick.

You might notice your hen doing this either while she is still sitting on the eggs or perhaps if she needs to get up and shift the eggs underneath her. When your hen responds, she is essentially encouraging them to break free of the shell, letting them know that they will be safe once they do so.

When your chicks hatch, you can find your hens talking to them then, too. This is partially to acquaint them with the pecking order, but also to teach them.

You will hear her clucking to her chicks as she teaches them certain lessons, like how to eat, drink, and bathe themselves. Chicks will often release their own versions of warning or distress calls when they are small, too. Occasionally, a chick might release a distress call if it is has gotten itself stuck in some sort of situation. When the mother hen rushes over to check on her chicks in distress, she will either bring them back to her nest or she will emit a soft growling sound if she believes the chick is in danger.

This will indicate to the chicks that they either need to stay exactly where they are or run back to their mothers. Sometimes this growling sound will sound more like a soft, deep clucking noise.