4 AM: A problem or totally normal?

[Exiragirls]

I have a pesky ground squirrel that likes to share my girls’ coop/run as well as mice. Now I know the girls will eat the mice, I’ve seen that happen, but they do not like the ground squirrel and will start raising a ruckus. And those critters are quick to take off and not big enough to set off a light.....my guess is that it’s some kind of small critter....a trail cam could rule that out easy enough....can’t think of any other reason for them to act like this when it’s still dark. Hope you get it figured out so the neighbors remain calm.

 

[oldhen2345]

Solving problems requires eliminating possible causes. No one knows the light is causing the problem, but it could be, so it needs to be eliminated from the equation.

My sister has chickens quite a way from the house. Some mornings, she has to get up early. When she turns the light on in the house- not matter how early- the chickens start up. She has one rooster - a bantam- that gets out if it is not locked down tight and waits at the front door for her to come out and jumps her. She says it is really startling in the dark. Maybe it is a neighbor stirring around.

 

[Nay]

According to the responses you've got so far, it looks like:
1. Small critter that dogs don't notice but chickens do
2. Someone in the vicinity waking up and starting their day
3. Light going off for some reason due to the environment

The solution in any case looks to be going back to the coop. Check for small openings that let in light or critters (mouse/rat), and possibly put a thought to greater insulation for a nicer environment and and possibly sound dampening (both for you, the neighbors and for the chickens to be less bothered by the outside).

How many times do I have to state this?! Our amazing dogs would alert us if there was.

it IS possible that there is something that the chickens notice that the dogs don’t, or that the dogs don’t see as a threat, or that sneak past while the dogs are sleeping, etc. etc. etc. because if your dogs truly alerted EVERYTHING than they would never be quiet because they would be alerting the chickens, and mice, and bugs, and rats, and leaves.....

And those critters are quick to take off and not big enough to set off a light.....my guess is that it’s some kind of small critter.

 

[Laurstick]

Put out feed for 2-3 days or more at a time so they don’t have to ask for more.

 

[Wol1]

The answer is to determine what changed on Saturday, and if it is still happening every morning, or did they just discover the bonanza that occurs when they make a racket at 4 am? Chickens are smart, but I don't think they learn that fast, and I doubt it would be that punctual. The fact that it's puctual at 4 am also seems to rule out tree branches or wind triggering the motion detector. Predators can have a puctual schedule, but a new predator suddenly showing up at 4 am would not have been ok with the dogs. However, if a neighbor turns on a light, they may wake up and get down off the roost and then get caught on the floor in the dark when they turn the light off. Chickens don't see well in the dark, so they might panic as they bump into each other in the dark trying to find the roost. If they can't see, they're likely to think they're bumping into something that's trying to kill them, and react accordingly, which frightens everyone else in the coop even more. Sort of like Henny Penny, except instead of thinking an acorn is the sky falling, they think that coop-mate they ran into is a predator, scream bloody hell about it and everyone panics.

You may need to quietly go out with your dogs around 3:45 am and sit in the dark and watch and listen. If you don't see or hear anything before they start making a racket, then I agree that there may be (or was the morning this started) something in the coop that's startling them. I'm just not sure mice are that punctual, but maybe they are. Are snakes punctual?