12 week old chicken likes to disappear at night.

[kWEEN_k0BRA]

I should have named her Houdini. For some unknown reason, I have a single chicken who, for the last week, likes to wander off by herself at dusk and hides out all night... Will not respond to calling, shaking the treat bag, etc. which normally results in a chicken stampede. My other 5 girls tuck themselves in and wait for me to come shut the door. They are all about 12 weeks old, so no eggs yet. If I can manage to lock them up early, she’s never in a rush to run off in the morning when I let them out. All my girls stay within 10-15 feet max from each other usually, so it’s odd that she just vanishes. I’m a little worried because we do have a fair amount of predators in the area, mainly feral cats and birds of prey. I cannot for the life of me figure out where she goes, but she always just pops up next to the coop in the morning and doesn’t leave the flock until light starts to fade. Is there anyone who can explain this weird behavior? She is not showing any odd symptoms of being sick or stressed. She’s actually the most “people social” out of the bunch. I’ll also note they have been in this coop since they were about 5/6 weeks old with no issues, there is TONS of room still, so it’s not overcrowding. Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[HumbleAmerican]

She’s found a ‘safe’ roost spot.

I lock mine in for a week if they do this or start laying elsewhere. My suggestion would be this.

 

[kWEEN_k0BRA]

She’s found a ‘safe’ roost spot.

I lock mine in for a week if they do this or start laying elsewhere. My suggestion would be this.

Thank you! I’ll try this

 

[sophialoveschickens]

*looks up in tree* "could that be her?"

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

After an hour of searching, I found my favorelle (sp) on top of a dog run looking like she was dead. It's just under my maple trees. I thought something had tried to carry her off and dropped her. She was just playing dead and got shut in the run after that.

 

[kWEEN_k0BRA]

*looks up in tree* "could that be her?"

I wish. She’s got the perfect camouflage to blend in at night, despite us running around for hours with flashlights brighter than the dang sun lol.

 

[kWEEN_k0BRA]

After an hour of searching, I found my favorelle (sp) on top of a dog run looking like she was dead. It's just under my maple trees. I thought something had tried to carry her off and dropped her. She was just playing dead and got shut in the run after that.

Hmmm that’s odd lol. We’ve just been trying to lock all the girls up a few hours early, which seems to help. She hasn’t gotten the chance to take off again.