Bizzarre behavior after move to new pen

[jtl977]

A week and a half ago I moved my 3 Australorps into a new pen from their old one. They completely freaked out when I put them in the new pen which is bigger, cleaner, and better lit. I chalked this up to making the adjustment to new surroundings. Since then the birds seem fine during the day but exhibit strange behavior at night. 1st of all they almost always refuse to use their perch, instead crowding together in a corner. 2nd of all they flap around and make a noisy racket when I turn off the lights at night. I dont know what in the heck has gotten in to them. Their pen is in a completely enclosed and secure garage, so there is no chance of a predator scaring them. Can anyone help me figure out what the issue is?

 

[sfw2]

Easy.

You. Changed. Something.

Chickens are creatures of habit. Although their new digs might represent a vast improvement, they are still **gasp** different. Did they have lights in their old coop? If they're used to the light slowly dimming at dusk, the sudden "lights out" might be very scary for them.

They'll settle down, soon enough. Then you'll innocently change something else . . .

 

[Imp]

You might want to check the coop for "guests". A couple years ago I had hens acting afraid of the coop. I thought they were just acting chicken, then I moved the feeder and found a rat's nest. The rats weren't messing with the chickens, just wanted a dry warm place to raise babies with plenty of food and water.

Imp- BTW I screamed like a little girl and fell over in my hurray to get away, when the baby rat's surprised me