Quietest hens?

[lukem5]

I am in a confined residential neighborhood, however I do have a small garden (200-300 sq ft) to let the birds run around in.

They have to be quiet so neighbors who are literally 5 feet away can't hear them.

I heard cochin bantams are pretty quiet and calm but do you guys have any other suggestion for quiet hens that are also good layers?

 

[X_and_Z]

What are your city ordinances? My city allows up to 6 chickens without a permit, but there are restrictions on how far the coop must be from a dwelling (25'). If your city has similar ordinances it may not matter how quiet your hens are.

I can't give you ideas for quiet hens but I can tell you that EE, brahma, wyandotte and polish are out - all my hens can be heard from at least 100' away.

 

[AllenK RGV]

Count my Sumatras out they aren't quiet anymore. I thought they were but then they reached point of lay. Also if they think I was even 5 minutes late opening the coop door in the morning the whole world is going to know just how unhappy with the service they are for the follow on 4-6 hours.

 

[BunnyTree]

I would recommend the buff orpington. They tend to be less noisy, although all chickens will cackle after laying an egg (I think it is to distract predators from the eggs) these were generally my quietest breed and really sweet to!

 

[Joeschooks]

I’ve never had a problem with noisy hens. My current flock are a mix of laying hybrids. Admittedly they are 100ft away from the house but I can just about hear them indoors and they only do the egg song once or twice a week. The neighbours next door but one do have some very noisy silkies though!

 

[lukem5]

Thanks for the replies, I heard Buff orpingtons are generally quiet before so I think ill give em a shot.

Mostly depends on personality from my research though with some breeds having louder tendency than others. Few exceptions for very quiet birds like japanese bantam (not a good layer tho)

I might as well get quail at this point because I need something ultra quiet.

 

[bobbi-j]

I'm guessing you are not allowed to have chickens where you live?

 

[Hufflefluff]

I don't have specific breed recommendations, but I will caution you to stay away from most bantams. Although some bantam hens can be very quiet (I've had good luck with silkies and d'uccles, and heard good things about cochins,) because they're small they generally have higher pitched 'voices', which carry farther than the deeper, throatier calls of standard breeds.
I'd strongly recommend talking to your neighbors about chickens if they live that close. They will end up hearing them, no matter what breed you decide on, and it's better to have them expect it (+eggs!) than to be unpleasantly surprised, which will probably lead to them going straight to your city with a noise complaint. Good luck, though- I really hope your chicken keeping works out.

 

[lukem5]

I'm guessing you are not allowed to have chickens where you live?

No laws prohibit me from having chickens.

The houses here are packed like sardines and everything concrete so all sounds echos. I can literally hear my neighbors clipping their toenails from 12 feet away

yes it sucks and its a horrible way to live - but its a Japanese neighborhood - this is how they live in very close quarters.

Many people would appreciate quieter chickens for urban environments, or homesteaders/farmers who just want a peaceful farm without a bunch of cackling and crowing all day long.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

My loudest bird is my BJG, but, as other's have said, the egg song can get pretty loud. The only reason my BJG is the loudest is she seems to be my lookout bird, so if a predator is about she's the first to spot it and tell everybody around. By predator, this could be a cat, a fox, a rat, a strange twitching leaf in the breeze... Chickens will call out for anything that catches their attention an makes them nervous. And that's besides the egg song.