Strange Behavior

[Maxine Green]

The strangest thing happened last night.
Two chickens (hens) were sitting huddled together in the middle of the free space yard in 6" of snow,
making quiet little chicken noises. When the dog barked at them, they didn't move.
Usually when the dogs bark, they go to the farm side of the yard, but not last night, they just kept sitting there.

I went out to see what the problem was. Usually when I get close, they move. If they think I have food they come running to me, otherwise they go some other place. Last night they didn't move. This has never happened before.
I walked over and picked them up, right out of the snow. They seemed fine, but not fussing to get down.
I sat one on the next fence while I tried to open the frozen farmyard gate. Usually, they fly off the fence and go about their business. Not Last night, she just sat there on the fence. The gate to their yard was totally frozen shut, so I walked the one I was still holding down to the actual chicken yard and tossed her in. She landed just fine and just looked around at me. Mind you the other girl is still sitting on the fence. I went back and got her, took her to the same spot and tossed her in right next to where the other one was waiting. The two of them looked back at me, turned around and walked into the chicken house.

My interactions with them took place at 11:30 PM in Indiana, 24F, 6" of snow on the ground from the two days prior.
I have no idea how long they had been sitting there. They were not there when the dogs went out at 7pm.
That was the strangest behavior I have ever seen.
Those two chickens and all the others are just fine this morning.

Any ideas what was going on?

 

[K0k0shka]

Have you interacted with them at this time of night before? Chickens don't see well in low light and are very subdued at night. 11:30 pm is way past their bedtime. They were probably disoriented by the darkness.

 

[Maxine Green]

Have you interacted with them at this time of night before? Chickens don't see well in low light and are very subdued at night. 11:30 pm is way past their bedtime. They were probably disoriented by the darkness.

No, they are usually all go to bed just after dusk. Them being out that late was very strange. However, there is a large light out in the yard, so it was not really dark.

 

[K0k0shka]

No, they are usually all go to bed just after dusk. Them being out that late was very strange. However, there is a large light out in the yard, so it was not really dark.

Snow reflects light, too, and makes everything look lighter than it really is. They might have been misled by the light in the yard and the snow and stayed out longer than they should have, then couldn't see well enough to go back on their own, and just settled where they were.

 

[3KillerBs]

Snow reflects light, too, and makes everything look lighter than it really is. They might have been misled by the light in the yard and the snow and stayed out longer than they should have, then couldn't see well enough to go back on their own, and just settled where they were.

That sounds very likely.

At one point when I was raising the first birds in this flock I had 2 Brahmas that were two weeks older than the other chicks. I was sitting out in the run watching the bats and the stars come out while I waited for the chicks to go in so I could close up the coop I was amused to see the big girls staying up late while the little ones went in.

But about 10 minutes later I realized that they were no longer just making normal roost-time noises but had actually started to cry in distress.

They had, apparently, overstayed and realized that they couldn't see to get back home. I had to rescue the silly things.

 

[K0k0shka]

That sounds very likely.

At one point when I was raising the first birds in this flock I had 2 Brahmas that were two weeks older than the other chicks. I was sitting out in the run watching the bats and the stars come out while I waited for the chicks to go in so I could close up the coop I was amused to see the big girls staying up late while the little ones went in.

But about 10 minutes later I realized that they were no longer just making normal roost-time noises but had actually started to cry in distress.

They had, apparently, overstayed and realized that they couldn't see to get back home. I had to rescue the silly things.

Young ones tend to overstay until they figure out the limits of their night vision (or lack thereof) and the right time to head in. My second generation stayed up much later than the older hens for months until they figured out that everybody should go to bed together.

And tonight I accidentally made them all overstay, poor things... I'm too afraid of cloudy/overcast days to trust the light sensor on my auto door, so I adjust the time manually as the day grows and shrinks throughout the year. Now that the days are getting longer, I'd been meaning to adjust the timer, but kept forgetting... And today was the day they got locked out All of them were perched on the highest roost in the run, except for one - the one that likes to go to bed last, because she always has just one last bite of food to take, or one last scratch in the run to make. She was pacing back and forth underneath the roost, craning her neck up and cussing out the universe when I went to rescue them.

 

[AngelinaThePekin8]

Some of the older hens that I have like to just stay in one spot because it is so cold and windy they sit down half way to the coop at least I believe that is why they don't go in right off the bat. So I pick them up and put them in the coop.
This picture here is of Broken toe one of my older hens. She was going to go into the coop but decided to just sit next to it instead.