Chicken Training

I love my chickens. They make me happy just sitting and watching them eat my bugs and scratch the ground. I also love gathering the eggs and every time I crack one open, I smile because that came from my chickens. I had three chickens left from last year's attempt at backyard chicken raising. After a couple of incidents with a Pomeranian and then a toy poodle, we had some losses and even had to start all over again with a new flock.

However, one of my chickens doesn't lay. She is over a year old and either she doesn't lay or she eats her eggs. So, I gave her to my mother. I have two hens currently laying and 6 teenagers getting ready to lay very soon. Since I really enjoy watching the chickens I choose ones that I thought were pretty, layed pretty eggs and were available at my local feed store. So, I have a black New Jersey Giant, an Easter Egger (since no one can say for certain if it an Aracauna or an Americana...), a Silver Laced Wyandotte, a Golden Laced Wyandotte, a Maran and then three that we are unsure of. I think a Red Sex Link and two Wellsummers. We'll see once they start laying since the Wellsummers are supposed to lay beautiful dark chocolate brown eggs.

So, here is the problem. My chickens aren't exactly legal. And every morning around 5:30 they start to make noise - a lot of noise. I had no idea that hens could make so much noise. They like to bawk. Except it's more of a BAWK, BAWK, BAWK!!! Add to this that I am not a morning person and I am trying to keep the neighbors from reporting me. I am running out and letting them out of the coop to shut them up, but now I think they have trained me. They bawk, I let them out...Anyone have any ideas about how to make them shut up without annoying my neighbors?