Strange huddling behavior

[Bkrett]

edited to add video. I have been raising chickens for about 8 years and currently have a flock of around 100 chickens. Today when I went out to give them some treats I noticed a very strange behavior I've never seen before. About 20-30 of them where huddled together in a big mass. I could see them constantly shoving a pushing their way towards the middle of the group. I kind of thought they might be afraid of something, we have hawks in the area and have lost a few hens to them over the years, but I didn't see one in the area at the time and usually when a hawk does fly by and scare them, they all hide together under the coops. We have one really large coop and one smaller one and there is more than enough room for them all to get under. I thought they would break up as I walked towards them, but they didn't, not even when I started petting them and gently pushing them apart. It lasted long enough for me to go all the way back to the house for my phone to get a picture and even then there was no sign of it stopping. All the other hens were right nearby acting totally normal. I took some photos and videos and then start tossing treats around the pen and only then did they break up to go chasing the treats. Has anyone ever seen this kind of behavior before? Any ideas on what it might be?

 

[Lauren Kim]

Is there a bit of food somewhere? Are they cold?

 

[Bkrett]

Is there a bit of food somewhere? Are they cold?

No I watched them really close for a long time, they definitely weren't eating anything, just wriggling around each other trying to get to the middle. I also looked for something on the ground there after I got them to disperse with treats and found nothing. Not cold, it was a beautiful sunny 70 degree day.

 

[sourland]

Interesting behavior - I am clueless as to the reason.

 

[Bkrett]

I should put up a link of the video, it is really strange behavior. Kind of reminds me of snakes when they are all wriggling in a big mass.

 

[sourland]

I should put up a link of the video, it is really strange behavior. Kind of reminds me of snakes when they are all wriggling in a big mass.

When snakes do it, it's a 'mating ball'. That's not what those girls had on their minds.

 

[andreanar]

Odd, never seen that. Ive seen pictures of guineas doing that with a snake in the center.

 

[Bkrett]

When snakes do it, it's a 'mating ball'. That's not what those girls had on their minds.

Haha, no! And yeah, I litterally just googled snakes swarming in a mass and found that it was a mating ball. But it totally reminded me of that because they weren't just standing close together, there was a constant movement of hens working there way to the center while others got pushed out

 

[Bkrett]

I have been raising chickens for about 8 years and currently have a flock of around 100 chickens. Today when I went out to give them some treats I noticed a very strange behavior I've never seen before. About 20-30 of them where huddled together in a big mass. I could see them constantly shoving a pushing their way towards the middle of the group. I kind of thought they might be afraid of something, we have hawks in the area and have lost a few hens to them over the years, but I didn't see one in the area at the time and usually when a hawk does fly by and scare them, they all hide together under the coops. We have one really large coop and one smaller one and there is more than enough room for them all to get under. I thought they would break up as I walked towards them, but they didn't, not even when I started petting them and gently pushing them apart. It lasted long enough for me to go all the way back to the house for my phone to get a picture and even then there was no sign of it stopping. All the other hens were right nearby acting totally normal. I took some photos and videos and then start tossing treats around the pen and only then did they break up to go chasing the treats. Has anyone ever seen this kind of behavior before? Any ideas on what it might be

I have been raising chickens for about 8 years and currently have a flock of around 100 chickens. Today when I went out to give them some treats I noticed a very strange behavior I've never seen before. About 20-30 of them where huddled together in a big mass. I could see them constantly shoving a pushing their way towards the middle of the group. I kind of thought they might be afraid of something, we have hawks in the area and have lost a few hens to them over the years, but I didn't see one in the area at the time and usually when a hawk does fly by and scare them, they all hide together under the coops. We have one really large coop and one smaller one and there is more than enough room for them all to get under. I thought they would break up as I walked towards them, but they didn't, not even when I started petting them and gently pushing them apart. It lasted long enough for me to go all the way back to the house for my phone to get a picture and even then there was no sign of it stopping. All the other hens were right nearby acting totally normal. I took some photos and videos and then start tossing treats around the pen and only then did they break up to go chasing the treats. Has anyone ever seen this kind of behavior before? Any ideas on what it might be?

It also really caught my attention because I give them treats very often and so anytime they see me coming the all usually run at me as fast as they legs will carry them, but this group didnt even notice me.

 

[sourland]

@centrarchid , is someone who might have valuable input on this behavior.