Backyard chickens are becoming increasingly popular and more towns are allowing them. It is no secret that keeping your hens clean, quiet, out of sight and out of mind is the best way to avoid neighbor complaints. We’ve gone into even further detail with additional ideas on how to make your flock seem like it is not even there! Here is how to better hide backyard chickens:
Our article on How to Hide Backyard Chickens has become one of the most frequently visited pages on our site (right behind our chicken egg colors by breed page). Because there are so many people seeking to find the balance between following their county poultry laws and not inconveniencing their neighbors, I wanted to share a few more actionable tips on how to better hide backyard chickens.
This post contains affiliate Amazon links and non-affiliate links to products I personally use.
Friendly Reminder to Follow the Law
This article, like the one before it, is written for those who are legally allowed to have chickens but must ensure their visibility is near zero to be in compliance with local ordinances, HOA rules or to avoid issues with neighbors dead-set on being difficult. “Hiding” chickens from a dog’s line of sight can also help nearby canines with a high prey drive not bark constantly at your flock.
If chickens are illegal where you live, do not keep them. Laying hens are too loud to conceal them completely from your next door neighbors. Consider keeping Coturnix (Japanese) quail instead, which are legal in nearly all cities and suburbs across the United States because they are classified as domesticated pet game birds.
Sometimes It’s All About Appearances
If you look at product packaging in the grocery store or images on bags of commercial pet food, you’ll notice that most chickens shown are white. We’ve all had the experience of driving behind an 18 wheeler transporting cages of white meat birds flinging white feathers all over the highway. Even the chicken that comes with the Fisher Price Little People Farm Playset is white! The color most associated with the word ‘chicken’ is a big white chicken with a large red comb.
Once you are aware of this, you can do yourself a favor by selecting chickens in any color but white to help keep your flock’s visibility to an absolute minimum. Our eyes and brains will quickly pick out the shape of a big white hen, even if we only catch a glimpse. Not so with the other earth tone colors.
Brown Hens with Beards – Is That Even a Chicken?
I’ll admit I’m enormously partial to Americanas, also called Easter Eggers. I love their colored eggs, sweet dispositions, quiet natures and the wide range of feather colors they come in. Most of them hatch as brown chipmunk striped chicks that grow into various brown-toned laying hens. Their lace-edged, irregularly patterned feathers that individually differ help give them a natural camouflage. And it’s not just predators that have a harder time spotting them; people tend to overlook a brownish colored hen standing under bushy cover entirely unless she moves.
Most people have no idea that chickens can have a beard. Their fluffy faces prevent bright red wattles from developing and their short pea combs barely show above their head. They so closely match the color of wood chip mulch, sandy soil and underbrush that they are truly impossible to spot through the fence slats. And we all know that clean, quiet, unobtrusive hens that are hard to see are the ones no one ever seems to complain about.
Beautiful Black Birds
If you live in an area where you have huge crows or ravens and have admired their sleek plumage, consider keeping black chickens. Australorps are popular and fairly quiet even if they have large straight combs and eye-catching red wattles. I tend to favor black Olive Egger and Easter Egger hens who have pea combs and extremely small wattles or beards that show no wattles at all.
Black chickens have stunning, iridescent feathers that reflect shifting flashes of navy, purple and emerald green in the sunlight, similar to an oil slick. It is easy to mistake them for crows at a glance. Solid black Ayam Cemanis generally are mistaken for black crows.
It is often difficult to tell a chicken from a crow in a cell phone picture taken at a distance. Add any sort of a blur (because chickens rarely hold still for a photo shoot) and their blackish, blob-like bodies are indistinguishable from the native bird population. Sometimes they are convincing enough look-alikes that hawks will opt for a different color chicken to prey upon lest it anger its arch nemesis, the crow. (It is my experience that hawks tend to prefer white, splash and yellow colored chickens, perhaps because they are so easy to spot from the air.)
Noisy “Teenage” Hens
Young hens, around six to nine months old, that have recently begun laying tend to be the loudest in my flock. They seem to feel entitled to the best nest box and squawk at full volume about anything that displeases them. By the time the hen is 18 months old, the familiarity of the routine has helped her to mellow out. Most of my two year old hens don’t even bother singing egg song any more. They seem to be bored with the charade and want to lay the daily egg as quickly as possible. Unless it was a particularly large and painful egg, they get the job done with hardly a squeak and return to scratching and pecking as soon as they can.
This tendency can be used to your advantage. Purchasing laying hens that are 18+ months old but still in their prime (up to 36 months old) might be a great way to keep egg song noise to a minimum. You’ll still get lots of eggs but the coop is likely to be quieter.
Chicken Run
Masking the actual chicken run is probably one of the easiest ways to keep your flock happy, quiet and unseen. Here are some ideas that really do work:
Get Low
A low, squat “tunnel” run that is 3 feet high allows the chickens plenty of head room but keeps them well below the fence line. A hen’s natural body shape is wider and longer than it is tall so her run should mimic her build, providing more ground space than overhead space. Adding hinges to the roof sections allows you to have open-top access. Just remember to use secure latches with carabiners that raccoons cannot open.
Evergreen Landscaping
Landscaping is your best friend when it comes to minimizing your flock’s visibility. Evergreen trees, shrubs and vines that keep their leaves all year round make it impossible for hawks – and nosy HOA board members – to spot your hens. Rosemary and lavender shrubs are a particular favorite. Rosemary will stay evergreen in most southern climates and both have essential oils in the leaves that freshen the air and calm the hens. They grow taller and wider than a chicken and are not easy to peer through once established. Planting shrubs around the outside of the run and along fences is a great way to create a private backyard oasis.
Vine Covered Run
Making your run look like a magical garden wonderland – or having it disappear completely under a heap of vines – can help keep visibility to near zero. To do this you need to build the run using ½ inch hardware cloth so the hens cannot reach through the wire to eat the leaves off of the tender growing vines.
While vegetable vines like squash or pumpkin will grow quickly, they also die back quickly and must be re-planted every spring. Evergreen flowering vines like wisteria can grow thick and unruly, eventually damaging the run structure by their growth. Raspberry and Blackberry canes can be a perfect cover and trimmed back every winter as much as you desire. Their thorns might also help deter predators.
It will take some research on your part to select a vine to use. Chicken runs can be fantastic cucumber and green bean trellises so don’t shy away from veggies simply because they die back. You could always opt to leave the dead leaves in place, providing as much coverage as possible for as long as they last.
A Dreamy White Picket Fence
After building a squat chicken run with predator proof wire, you can disguise it behind painted fence pickets if desired. Only the most visible side needs the decorative pickets added. The top and back sides are fine being just wire so the chickens get fresh air and sunshine to warm them up on chilly days.
Garden Secret
Using fence pickets can make your run look similar to a small enclosed garden. If desired you could add a garden to the end of the run and fence all of it alike. The combination low run and garden surrounded by short picket fencing would look darling.
Coop + Potting Shed & Garden Combo
Another idea is to use half of a potting shed as a chicken coop. Attached to the potting shed could be a garden that faces the street and the chicken run is the back 1/3 of the garden. From the curb passers by would see a very cute potting shed and vegetable garden overflowing with greenery. The chickens in the run behind the garden would be incredibly difficult to spot, especially if raised planting beds are used. The overall appearance would be tidy and appealing.
Sandy Bottoms
In the run, play sand is a wonderful litter that hens love to dust bathe in. It also happens to muffle their jumps and footfalls. As chickens scratch and peck, they can fling mulch and wood chips loudly against the sides of the run, the coop, or the neighbor’s fence. Sand solves this problem. You can buy it in bags from home improvement stores or purchase it by the pickup truckload as needed. The hens will kick some of it through the run wire but Mediterranean herbs love sandy soil. Planting them nearby is a great option and their leaves will catch and stop most of the flying sand.
Clever Coops
Do you love coops that look like tiny houses or whimsical storybook cottages? Playhouse and storage shed building plans can very easily be altered to become a chicken coop. Simply use ½ inch hardware cloth for the windows and add a locking latch to keep out raccoons. Etsy has some stunning building plans that look like the playhouse of a child’s dreams but will securely house your beloved flock.
Just remember to keep the height of the coop below your fence line so you don’t deal with any complaints. Most residential fences are 6 feet (72 inches) but some are only 5 feet (60 inches) so measure your fence before you purchase plans.
We used this plan from Etsy to build a 59 inch tall white coop. Here are some additional chicken coop plans we found that sit below 72 inches: 1, 2, 3
If height is not a concern, these well-organized coop plans have some of the highest rated reviews and most stunning customer images I have seen anywhere!
Tip:
Use Everbuilt brand gate hardware from Home Depot. It is heavy duty exterior grade and lasts forever in the sun and rain without falling apart. Handsome hardware that gives your coop a polished look is a must when keeping suburban chickens. The ability to padlock shut is built in to almost every piece and is also a feature I suggest.
Smelling Fresh and Clean
Sweet PDZ Horse Stall Refresher is a chicken keeper’s secret weapon when it comes to keeping coop smells to zero. Sprinkle it generously over poops or use the entire bag in the floor of your coop for maximum odor control. It behaves similar to cat litter, allowing you to easily scoop up droppings. Once Sweet PDZ touches chicken poops, it instantly absorbs the smell.
All Day Buffet
Spoiled hens accustomed to treats are LOUD hens. A gravity feeder that is kept full of only chicken feed is a great way to keep everyone eating and quiet. I like feeding my flock a mix of pelleted feed, chicken scratch and meal worms but I have spoiled my chickens to ruin. The problem is the chickens will rake everything out of a feeder, seeking to only eat their favorite bits. Once those few meal worms are gone, they will stand in a pile of pellets and squawk for more treats. It is my fault that my chickens behave this way because of how I chose to feed them and what I chose to feed them.
For a backyard flock that must remain as quiet as possible, I would suggest only ever giving pelleted or crumble commercial chicken feed in a gravity feeder. The hens will eat what they need, scratch and peck around quietly for ants and bugs (they have to be silent while they ‘hunt’) and if they are not used to getting regular treats, they won’t have a reason to make a fuss.
A neighbor of mine wisely does this to maintain a nearly silent flock. She feeds only organic layer pellets and occasionally takes veggie scraps out to them which are leftover tops & bottoms from the vegetables she diced for her family’s meals. This doesn’t happen every day so the chickens have not grown to expect it. Her flock is quiet around the clock and the hens never scream for treats.
Strategic Predator Proofing
You already know chickens need a predator proof coop and run for their safety but it can also contribute to a quiet flock. Hens that are under attack during the day by stray dogs, weasels, foxes, coyotes or hawks will screech and flap about wildly trying to escape the threat. Because most of these animals dig into the run, the panicked cacophony will last until the predator succeeds and leaves with his meal or is chased away. Gardens, bushes, vines, plantings and additional fencing that shades and conceals the run truly helps. The hens will feel that they have secure retreat areas and dogs – the most common suburban predator – will have obstacles blocking direct access to the edge of the run where they want to dig.
One Last Hidden Benefit
Storms and upheavals that clear out the grocery stores of eggs, milk, bread and toilet paper seem to be happening more frequently. If people on your street are unaware you own chickens, you won’t have unfamiliar faces banging on your door asking for eggs when the stores are empty. I am all for being generous and do still suggest sharing eggs with next door neighbors. But the reality is you won’t be able to supply your street, let alone your entire neighborhood, with eggs during short-term crisis events. Keeping your flock as concealed as possible from strangers who walk or jog by daily is wise. (Here is how to help neighbors find local egg sellers during shortages.)
During the initial Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020 when grocery stores were frequently sold out, our family stopped counting after giving away 50 dozen eggs to neighborhood residents during an 8 week period. My coop is plainly visible from the street and everyone knows we have chickens. It was a pleasure to serve others but I was grateful things did not get worse. Please seriously consider my advice to conceal your coop and run in a visually appealing way. It will serve you well in the long run.
If you have additional clever tips on how to better hide backyard chickens, please leave them in the comments section and feel free to link pictures as well – everyone would love to see!
Brenda says
Not sure if this was mentioned, but I don’t post pictures of my flock, coop etc on social media either.
Love your articles- looking forward to browsing your whole site!!!