Roughly 6 week old chickens PANIC when there light is shut off!

[FeelingSouthern]

Hello BYC!
I recently became the proud flock mama of 4 beautiful hens. They are roughly 6 weeks old I've been told. One is a Buff Orpington, 2 of them are all black (possible Orpington's?) and one if half Ameracauna.
They have been in there new coop for a fews days now. The coop is a room build into a paddock house for our sheep. It has a lot of light in the day time and we also have a light in there for them as well. I noticed tonight as I shut there light off in the coop that they began to sqwack very loudly and make very weird high pitched chirps. They seemed frightened of the dark. They are completely safe from the elements and animals. Should they have some light on at night? It becomes pitch black out there and the moon light really doesn't do much for them. I have read that when it is completely dark out, chickens go into a weird trance and go to sleep.

Is this normal behavior? Are they just scared?

 

[nbenevento]

Yeah that sounds normal. Some may tell you to give them a night light but I am of the opinion that you should just let them get used to it. As you said, they are safe so I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[kacklinkelly]

I agree with nbenevento - Ours did the same thing. It took a few nights for them to work through it and
then they were fine. When it first happened I thought, OMG my neighbors are going to kill me. My 2nd
thought was, how come I didn't read anything about this. If I remember correctly, they only did it for
about the first half hour before getting established for sleep. Within a couple of days it was over.
I so enjoy our chickens. They are the greatest comic relief and simplest pets we've ever had.
However, I am practical about how they are being raised and they seem perfectly adjusted
to their conditions. You will read many differing opinions. Basically, it's your call.

 

[FeelingSouthern]

Thank you both for being so helpful! Being a first time chicken mom I find myself worrying about anything that they do that I haven't read about, haha.