Barking hen . . .

[Country_Gal@Heart]

Has anyone ever heard their hen bark? Two of my hens did not go into their coop lastnight and around midnight my husband woke up to what he thought was a dog barking in our backyard. He retrieved the flashlight and went out to the corner of the house and found our two hens. The marans was actually making a sound that sounded like one of our chihuahuas barking. My husband said she was very loud too. Weird, huh?

 

[chooniecat]

If it truly was the hens WHY did they not go to roost(put themselves to bed) and I would suspect the sound was a cough.Keep an eye on them and good luck.

 

[OlyChickenGuy]

If they haven't been making this sound in the past, I would be inclined to believe it is a cough, too. However, I did have one little pullet who made squeaking / barking noises, and another of my pullets has a very non-chickeny voice, too. I learned awhile ago that chickens have a rudimentary ability to mimic noises, like crows and parrots, and was surprised when one night my chickens started "singing along" with the music I was playing! They were actually mimicking the sounds of the singer!! So, if they have been exposed to a sound like barking... maybe they picked up on it?

I would still be cautious and watch for illness, though, since I've heard that a "barking" noise is usually indicative of illness.

 

[ralleia]

I had a RIR that was "barking" last year. It looked like a sneeze. Unfortunately I can't remember if we culled her or if it cleared up on her own--I think we kept her because she was active and energetic (and healthy enough to keep laying eggs), and she just got better.