Strangest behavior ever!

[Jencleg]

So I get up this am and go on the back porch to hear our lil roo greet me good morning and look up at the porch, and they were quiet & hiding behind the door where I could not see them. So I go down & place them one by one in the run like I do every morning & our silkie hen was just standing there all close to the ground making a very soft noise, and NOT moving. I go towards her talking to her & she does NOT move. I then look around and the other 3 are doing standing like statues...no one is moving. Poor Polly put her head in a corner & stood very still, my roo stood in the middle of the run and was silent & still and my smallest cochin hen stood a foot away. Both faced the same direction and the silkie was looking down thru the woods & would NOT move.....Strange??

I was talking to my husband and still NO movement...and to top the weirdness I had just dropped a pan on oats in the run! I went back in the house & a bit later looked out & they were fine, but it was sooo strange! Do they sense danger?

 

[maybejoey]

I dont know if chickens can sense danger, but maybe they can. Dont have any answers but I hope that there arnt any predators that could get to them. If you have a fenced in area and a good strong coop I wouldnt worry.

 

[Jencleg]

I am pretty protected. My first guess was she is just about laying age & that was why she was acting so strange? What do they do the first time? I just wondered if they were maybe basing thier behavior on hers since she is the head honcho?

 

[TrystInn]

Likely keeping an eye on a predator.

 

[Jencleg]

Here is where they are/were. Every morning, they are all 4 at the screen window waiting on me to transfer them over, but this morning they were behind the door, not making a sound.

But they were acting normal when I left for work....

 

[Pele]

Yep, sounds like they were harassed by a predator during the night. Chickens can convince themselves to hold still and 'hide' for hours and hours. Your presence and the daytime light probably brought them out of their hiding trance.

I'd bet money that if you spread flour on the ground directly under the coop itself, you'll find pawprints in the morning.

 

[bawkbawkbawk]

Sounds very much like my girls' behavior when the red-tailed hawk is lurking nearby. They stand stock still and make those low sounds that I never hear otherwise. The one time the hawk actually swooped and made a pass at my two hens they stood frozen for half an hour and would not move even for treats!

 

[Judy]

Was the pan of oats something new? It does indeed sound like watching out for something dangerous -- which sometimes is anything new!

 

[whoacowboy]

Your run is ADORABLY decorated. My chickens will be dust bathing and will all of a sudden stop, stand up and all heads will turn the same direction. I agree, they know more about the surroundings than us humans do. We haven't had any predators but it's good to know they still have the instinct to protect themselves.

 

[Pele]

Quote:
Heehee I was thinking that too! I was just keeping quiet so no one would notice me stealing her flowerbox idea....