Chicken song and calls

Birdsong and calls are often the easiest way to identify the Chicken, especially when the bird is hidden in dense foliage. Below is what to listen for.

Song

Roosters produce a distinctive 'cock-a-doodle-doo' crow, typically at dawn, but also throughout the day to announce their presence and territorial claims. This is not a song in the typical avian sense but a territorial call.

Calls

Hens produce a variety of clucking sounds, ranging from soft contentment clucks to louder alarm calls ('cackles') when disturbed or after laying an egg. Chicks emit peeping sounds. Alarm calls are sharp and repetitive.

When they vocalize

Roosters crow most frequently at dawn and dusk, but also intermittently throughout the day. Hens cluck continuously while foraging and cackle loudly after laying eggs or when alarmed. Chicks peep constantly when young.

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