Many of you may think that chickens all sound the same, and their communication with one another is a chorus of monotonous clucking, but I’m here to shed, just a bit of light, on the complex chatting of Chicken Corner and how to interpret the different noises. Lets go…
Cock-a-doodle-do
No two cockerel’s crows are the same, and the bigger the bird, the lower the pitch; as I’m sure you can imagine a bantam Pekin has a painfully high pitched screech.
Pottering About
When searching for food and foraging, chickens have general chit-chatter amongst themselves. This consists of frog-ribbets, higher toned purring and an odd clutch here or there. I guess it’s the equivalent of us singing or humming as we go about our daily business.
Discovery!
When a cockerel finds something of interest, he simply has to tell his girls! They make very short clucking noises whilst bobbing their heads up and down, scratching at the ground and picking up bits and dropping them .. and like a true gentleman; always lets his females eat first.
Surprise, Surprise!
When surprised but not threatened they make a long, high pitched whining noise from the back of their throat. This spreads like a domino effect among Chicken Corner and before I know, its like being in a frog’s pond!
Danger Danger, high voltage!
This is most popularly associated with chickens, when people do an impression of a chicken this is the call they make. Danger calls spread across the whole group and its very difficult to stop, which is most annoying because its incredibly loud.
Mating Ritual
For the cockerel, this is a mixture of alerting the hen’s attention by acting like there is something extremely interesting at her feet (usually a mini twig). He’ll then do a little dance around the female, swinging either clock or anti – clockwise around her with the outerwing stretched out, as if to cup her into a little circle. The majority of the time this courtship is unsuccessful and the female runs off.
Broody Hen
This is very distinctive and you know if you’ve disturbed a broody’s nest! They are inclined to puff out their feathers, this has the indirect effect of also deterring the male as he leaves her alone. In Essence, everything a broody hen does is amplified!
Mother Hen
Its actually very similar action to the cockerel Discovery call but at a higher pitch. This attracts the attention of her chicks which only they respond to as her individual call is engrained in them at a very early age .. within a couple of days actually!
Lost Soul Mates
Chickens are like us humans, as we like having familiar faces around and don’t like new environments. However, if they are separated for some reason, they pine after eachother. Its kind of a purring noise – low and monotone; to really get their emotions across..
Bye chicks x
Written: 3rd November 2017
