One of my hens did not make it in before the auto door closed last night, and the unfortunate incident taught me a couple things I thought worth sharing:
1. A chicken being chased in the middle of the night may make noises that sound like a mammal.
I feel really horrible that I thought, when loud noises woke me up at 2 a.m., that there was a fight going on, or an owl chasing a small possum, or something along those lines...she was yelling but just did not sound like a chicken.
Thankfully, when I checked out the yells a few hours later, she had managed not to be bloodied by the the cat or skunk chasing her... no thanks to me.
2. Some chickens can run through the chicken yard on a moonless night.
I had expected that chickens would be blind and dazed at night.
She was running so fast that in my weak flashlight she looked like a very large rodent or a small cat....I have no idea how she could have accomplished that without crashing into things, but she did and managed to save herself (I hope - hope there were no internal injuries - she is exhausted and has slept all day).
1. A chicken being chased in the middle of the night may make noises that sound like a mammal.
I feel really horrible that I thought, when loud noises woke me up at 2 a.m., that there was a fight going on, or an owl chasing a small possum, or something along those lines...she was yelling but just did not sound like a chicken.
Thankfully, when I checked out the yells a few hours later, she had managed not to be bloodied by the the cat or skunk chasing her... no thanks to me.
2. Some chickens can run through the chicken yard on a moonless night.
I had expected that chickens would be blind and dazed at night.
She was running so fast that in my weak flashlight she looked like a very large rodent or a small cat....I have no idea how she could have accomplished that without crashing into things, but she did and managed to save herself (I hope - hope there were no internal injuries - she is exhausted and has slept all day).
