Chattering beak?

[cundare]

I'm not sure exactly how to describe this, but our pet rooster has lately been "chattering" his beak -- rapidly opening & closing it as though trying to chew rapidly. He's also been a little less responsive than usual, although that could be due to other factors (like violent weather) the last week.

I did a little research and can't find anything specific. This is something new. We've had him for over a year and he never did this until recently. Now he does it a lot.

This "chattering" isn't accompanied by any noise.

Is anybody familiar with a symptom like this?

 

[Lenny loves chickens]

His he cold to the touch?

 

[cundare]

Well, his feathers aren't cold. We live in a warm climate. It's still in the 70s here and he comes in at night into a pen built in the garage.

This guy is a family pet, so he's pretty pampered!

 

[Lenny loves chickens]

Well, his feathers aren't cold. We live in a warm climate. It's still in the 70s here and he comes in at night into a pen built in the garage.

This guy is a family pet, so he's pretty pampered!

Ok my bad its negitive 15 where I am lol I forget its warm in some places haha...can you post a video or pics?

 

[cundare]

I think it would be hard to get a video. It's unpredictable when he does this & it only lasts a fraction of a second when he does. My phone takes about 5-6 seconds, if I'm lucky, to set up a video shot. And a photo wouldn't show much of anything. But let me think on it.

I was mostly just wondering if this symptom is anything that indicates a common ailment of chickens. Ever hear of behavior like this before? With all the bad weather here lately -- torrential downpours for days -- and non-stop explosions from fireworks for 12 hours on New Year's Eve -- the guy has had a very stressful week.

 

[Battlepants]

Does he have a voice outside of this chattering? I'm curious if he's actually clucking/crowing but just not able to make any noise.

 

[cundare]

Yes, crowing as usual, although once in a great while, a crow seems to end in a croak. I don't know that I'd read too much into that, since, out of dozens or more ear-splitting crows a day, we hear that maybe once a week, maybe even less often.

 

[cundare]

For reference, this guy is a "rescue rooster." We think he wandered into our yard after escaping from a cockfighting ring in the neighborhood. When he got here, his feathers were chewed up and he had a bandage on one leg and a tie wrap on the other. He seems to have a permanent injury to one wing, which doesn't fold quite right, and he's terrified of dogs barking. He can't fly very high and used to get frustrated about not being able to get into a tree that other chickens just hopped onto. He also doesn't seem to be able to eat larger objects, like whole kernels of corn. When we give him a mixture of stuff, it's always the smaller pieces, like cracked corn, brown rice, or millet, that he gobbles up. The larger items he might pick up & then drop. So although the bird looks healthy & generally behaves as though he's not stressed, he's never been a 100% tough-guy rooster. He tries, though. If a predator comes into the yard, he runs up to challenge it. But as I mentioned earlier, we bring him in at night, since he couldn't defend himself, or even roost off the ground, if a nocturnal predator came into the yard.

Anyway, this "chattering" is something new, just the past few weeks. We're just trying to figure out if it's an early symptom of something we should be concerned about.

 

[AngBantamLuv]

Is this chattering while hes comfy, maybe sitting with you? My chickens do it and they are extremely pampered. My other birds (cockatiels, parrots) have also done it. It sounds almost like they are clicking grinding their beaks with a little chit chat noise, and coincides with them fluffed up and in a sleepy state. Not sure if that's what you're hearing.. but if so, that's the sign of one very comfortable chicken!

 

[cundare]

That's interesting. Could be...

But just to be clear, no noise, not even beaks clicking. It happens at various times of the day; don't see a pattern or relationship any particular behavioral state. He usually seems to be active & foraging or walking around when he does this.