diff --git a/scripts/start-hydra.sh b/scripts/start-hydra.sh
index 4898a1f3..3b9c7dfd 100755
--- a/scripts/start-hydra.sh
+++ b/scripts/start-hydra.sh
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 #!/bin/sh
 
-# wait for postgresql to be up
-while ! pg_ctl -D $(pwd)/.hydra-data/postgres status; do sleep 1; done
+# wait for postgresql to listen
+while ! pg_isready -h $(pwd)/.hydra-data/postgres -p 64444; do sleep 1; done
 
 createdb -h $(pwd)/.hydra-data/postgres -p 64444 hydra