I'm planning to build a chicken coop for about 12 egg-laying chickens as part of my y2k preparations. Unfortunately, the only feasible spot for the coop is right next to the spot where my y2k generator will sit. It'll have a "quiet" Honda 13hp propane engine driving it, but I'm concerned that the intermittent noise of the generator may interfere with their egg laying, especially in the cold, wet, Oregon winter. The generator will operate about 4hrs daily, several times during the day. Can anyone tell me if that is a realistic concern? Should I forget the chickens?

-- Norm Harrold (nharrold@tymewyse.com), June 18, 1999

Answers

Norm,

Noise that chickens hear on a regular basis won't bother them. The generator puts out a low monotonous hum so shouldn't be a problem unless it back-fires! Chickens don't like sudden, loud, noises (much like people). After a few days, they won't even turn their heads when the genset fires up.

Be sure to extend their "daylight hours" during the winter with a little of that electric power so they will continue to lay during the short winter days. A small (40-60 watt) electric light burning for a couple of hours just about the time they normally go to roost should do the trick.

Gerald

-- Gerald R. Cox (grcox@internetwork.net), June 18, 1999.

When I was growing up on our farm, one of the many different kinds of animals we raised were chickens. We had the old "fend for yourself chicken" which means the chickens were raised out in the open, and we had a commercial chicken house. The commercial chicken house is a very noisy place! We had automatic feeders which carried the feed from a outside holding bin to the chicken feeders inside the house and these were on automatic timers. The feeders would start without warning, at least for the chickens, and would be much more noisy than a generator. The only time the chickens would stop what they were doing was when we made a sharp noise such as clapping our hands. But they would then go back to doing what they were doing before the noise. So do not worry about the generator. Please go ahead and buy those chickens. You will be one less family we have to worry about. God Bless.

Ted

-- Ted Wiley (TWiley7@mailexcite.com), June 18, 1999.

Don't forget Chickens don't like carbon monxide.

-- && (&&@&&.&), June 18, 1999.

Forget the chickens Norm? Are you nuts? (just kidding, -grin-) Norm, you can't eat a generator. Those Hondas are pretty quiet! We used to dig a hole and set them down in it to muffle noise when we camped. You'd have to watch for water filling it, since you get alot of rain. Don't worry about the chickens. Deaf ones taste just as good, HA. Let them roam free.

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), June 18, 1999.

nharrold,

"my y2k generator", "a quiet Honda 13hp propane", "forget the chickens". Geeze. Wish trolls could lay eatable eggs.

-- Sniff? (Idunno@justguessing.not), June 19, 1999.

About the light and the chickens:

I said a couple of hours of light a day should be enough. Not exactly right. They need at least 14 hours of light a day. Starting in about mid August, they need 1 hour, increasing to as much as 5 hours per day of artificial light during Dec and Jan. It can be divided up, some in the morning and some in the evening.

Gerald

-- Gerald R. Cox (grcox@internetwork.net), June 19, 1999.

The only problem might be that when they come to steal the generator, if the chickens are close by they might grab them too.

-- Linda (lwmb@psln.com), June 19, 1999.

This is no baloney; chickens it seems lay significantly more eggs when listening to classical music , saw it on a documentary.

-- (sibola@hotmail.com), June 19, 1999.

Norm, your generator won't bother the chickens one bit. I've had commercial chiken houses for 18 years, and every other weekend we target shoot and skeet shoot just a few dozen yards away in a pasture. Also have a 40kw JD diesel genset between them and it self-tests a simulated power failure once a week - no problem. Worry about varmints not noise and keep your powder dry.

-- doktorbob (downsouth@dixie.com), June 19, 1999.