It’s good to be back writing on this site again after taking several weeks off for the summer.  As I write tonight, the kids are getting to bed and hopefully getting a good night’s sleep before the first day of school tomorrow morning!  The wake-up in the morning might present some challenges as they’ve enjoyed a healthy couple months of staying up late and sleeping in!  That’s the point of summer break, right?  But when you raise chickens, like it or not, there are not breaks!  When the sun comes up, they’re up and ready to get out of their coop, eat some breakfast, and start another day of free-ranging around their domain!

While I haven’t written in awhile, I’ve been watching and observing the hens behaviors all summer long.  They are truly fascinating!  Earlier in my “chicken raising career” (meaning a couple months ago), I had to learn to deal with minor issues such as introducing a new hen into an established flock, dealing with a hen who had gone broody, keeping the flock hydrated during the heat of the summer, and even finding some trustworthy chicken-sitters when we decided to take some vacation time.  I’m happy to report that we tackled each of those issues and successfully overcame them.  Another issue, however, that I really felt like was somewhat out of my control remained how to protect the flock when I wasn’t around.  There remains, still today, the ever present threat of predators both daytime and during the night.  Much to my surprise, the hens actually pulled their fair-share of  helping out in this last issue and things have remained relatively safe!  I’ve learned by observation that these animals have a language all their own!  And their communication between each other isn’t just to send out an alarm when something doesn’t seem safe.  Below, I’ve outlined some of the situations I’ve noticed their communications and have validated these with some pretty reputable poultry web sites!

Cackling:  The first time I heard this type of noise from one of the hens, I noticed it was while she was in the nesting box, possibly laying an egg.  I would be across the yard, several yards away, and would hear the hen making a loud, echoing sound!  Upon further observation, I noticed the behavior was closely tied to the production of an egg!  Yup….confirmed via the Internet that hens will proudly boast of their accomplishment of laying an egg.  Sometimes, according to one site, other hens in the flock might join in to make a chorus of cackling, boastful hens!

Chucking and Clucking:  I sometimes find myself holding back laughter when I can hear the hens “talking” but they don’t know I’m spying on them!  It’s a language all their own and who knows what they are talking about.  Apparently this communication can happen at any time and without any particular reason.  It’s really funny to hear and see!

Growling:  If I come up on one of the hens tying to have a private moment inside one of the nesting boxes, she will often respond to me with a low pitched, slow and steady cackle.  It really is similar to a dog’s growl, and equally an indication of “don’t bother me right now”.  Typically, my immediate response back to the hen is “Oh…sorry.  I’m moving along now.  Please carry on!”

Squawking:  I try not to startle the hens or make any sudden movements towards them.  If I do, then it usually creates a scream, of sorts, from the hen which in human terms might translate to “hey, leave me alone!”.  And while our lovable labrador retriever is great around the hens, if she too makes any sudden movements or gallops across the yard in their close proximity, then the hens will respond with squawking followed closely by a sprint in the opposite direction!

Rebel Yelling:  Not sure if that’s an official term for this final communication I’ve observed.  There have been times where I’ve seen one or more of the hens sound the alarm whenever there’s a hawk or other perceived predator close by.  I’ve been fascinated watching the flock of five split up across the yard, and one will “yell” over to the other group, sounding the alarm.  The hens will either respond (back) with a return volley of alarms or duck beneath one of the many shrubs that fill the back yard to avoid being detected.  And while I can’t confirm this last part, I have seen more than once where one of the alpha-chickens will sound another alarm when the coast is all clear!

If you’re a flock owner, like me, then take some time to observe these communicative skills.  It’s very fascinating and has got me thinking that we humans can learn a lot by “talking it out”!