what has scared my chickens

[Jeannie C]

Something seems to have scared them. They hide in a corner or try to climb the fence. They are so freaked out the end up killing each other. They are 5 weeks old already. They have a co-op with a roof and it is completely fenced in.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Hmm, unfortunately it is really difficult to answer this with just the information you have right now as the fact is just about anything could have or might be currently frightening your chickens. The fact that you are seeing losses is even more concerning.
Is the coop/run in an area where you can observe it from a distance without the birds seeing you or being aware you are there? If so, is there any time during the day when they are calm and just milling about being chickens vs. scrambling around in the corner trying to escape from something? If they are just milling about enjoying themselves and you then approach the enclosure does that set off their panic? When you say they are killing each other - have you actually seen their actions result in the death of the birds that have been lost? If not, what is the condition of the body that is leading you to believe it was the other birds who have caused the death?
Can you tell us a bit about your setup or, even better, share some pictures?

 

[Jeannie C]

They are not afraid of people. I can hear them from my bedroom trying to all scramble into the same corner of the co-op. We heard a ruckus one night and thought we saw an owl, but it can't actually get to them. When they climb around in a panic they claw open the skin where they don't have feathers yet, causing those to die. Would they still be afraid after a week? They come outside during the day to eat and drink but still huddle together.

 

[iwiw60]

You may very well have a predator getting into your coop and you're not visibly seeing where/how they're getting in. Sounds like it could be a rat or weasel perhaps. Do you have a webcam you can set up in their area so you can maybe catch something on camera?

 

[Jeannie C]

That was my next step and suddenly this morning they are back to normal. I worried about digging critters in past years so this year we put a concrete pad under the whole thing.

 

[6of6chicks]

Deleted 7/24/2014.