HELP!! chickens went berserk in the coop!

[Jenaia Ward]

Let me start off with saying, this isn’t the first time this has happened... this morning just before 5AM we woke up to our poor hens going absolutely berserk in their coop. In the past when this happened we assumed it was a fox or raccoon that disappeared before we could get out there, BUT this morning we purposely took the flashlight and ran straight to the coop. As we approached we could hear two of our girls in extreme distress almost as if she were dying. We purposely had our Rotti and Hound our with us Incase of a predator so we hesitantly flung the door opened and found nothing but 2 hens and our little roo (Hank the farm mascot) very disoriented and zombie like. The three of them jumped out of the coop and took off as if they were being chased... I am completely baffled and don’t have a clue what to do? Has anyone else ever experienced this?! Do you think it’s a sly fox somehow slipping in and out? Or maybe a neurological thing? Any suggestions or advice would be much appreciated!!

 

[theoldchick]

Could be a rat getting in there and creating havoc among your flock. Get a game camera to detect what is going on. Also, make sure you have good ventilation in your coop. Chickens do get 'night frights' for what ever reason and some will die simply from shock.

Good luck and be safe!