Clucking at night?

[my5hens]

Okay this is the second time this summer my girls have started clucking at night. The first time was about maybe a week or two ago around 11 at night. It was totally dark outside and I had just hopped into bed when I heard her go off. She was clucking like she was going to lay an egg. So it wasnt a scared cluck or angry. I went out to see what the deal was but didnt see anything out of the norm.
The second time was this evening, only much earlier. It was just barely dark outstide, but they are usually quiet by then. But I heard that same type of clucking so I went outside to check on them and one that was clucking was out in her run and the others were all perched for the night.
Are they looking for a mid night snack perhaps?

 

[Judy]

To my ear, the alarm cluck and the egg song are nearly the same. I'd say a predator was snooping around.

 

[cmom]

I agree, there is something out of the usual for your bird to be clucking like that. It could be almost anything. Do you close your birds in at night? It could be a snake to a four footed creature. A predator will hide so even though you go out to check you may not see it.

 

[ThinkingChickens]

My chickens do this in the early morning, but if they did it at night I'd be thinking predator.

 

[my5hens]

UGH An update.....
Right after I posted this last night I heard one of them going off again. So I brought my dog out with me and I went out to check them and saw the biggest, fattest, ugliest possum I've ever seen in my life! This thing was huge! It wasnt near their coop but it was scurrying across the fence running away from my yard. I made sure there wasnt a break in - there wasnt - and strung up some Christmas bells around their coop so hopefully if it comes back to get them it will get scared off. I dont know if that will work or not.

Thank you everyone!

 

[cmom]

Possums will dig under a fence to get at the birds. It will be back. I had one and caught it in a trap. It had dug under my fence and got one of my birds. I came back to the same place a second night to the same spot it had dug the night before and dug up the dead bird I put out for bait. It came back a third night and that is when it got caught in a trap I set. Bye Bye possum. Now I have an electric fence and nothing will dig under or go over. I have heard critters touch it and I guarantee they don't come back.

 

[ThinkingChickens]

That's a predator I never even thought of. Last night we had a bear eating the neighbors trash, which happens from time to time, and all my neighbors were texting me to watch my chickens. Aww, concerned neighbors. LOL

 

[Mark Whatley]

My girls emit a quiet little cluck during the night; it’s definitely not an alarm. Makes me wonder if they dream. Does anyone else hear these soft clucks?