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?
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.
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.
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.
