Chickens acting weird...

My chickens always roost in the barn. Tonight when I went to feed, they were all huddled together on the ground outside in spite of the fact that a thunderstorm was rolling in. Came in, checked the weather and we are under tornado watch and it is really storming good now. Just shined my flashlight out to see if they had gone in since it is so bad out and there they all are, out in the rain. Makes me worried the barn is going to blow away tonight...

Pretty strange behavior for chickens or any other animal that doesn't find protection when a storm is coming in. Keep a close eye on the weather and the chickens - stay safe.

Just about anytime you see a wing creature roosting or nesting close or on the ground keep your eye to the sky.
2nd line

You Know,,, your intuition serves you well. Most animals I interact with, are far more intelligent than most people
I have to endure on a daily basis.

To Be Sure,,,Check the Barn. You may have a Predator in there.

Your chickens would rather stay in the frying pan of the storm, than waltz into the mouth of the fire.

They can sense it.

Good Thoughts to you,,,Wildmanimal

My mother has chickens at her house down in KS.

Pretty interesting animals I must say. Keep us posted. I used to have a Cat that always had a sense about bad weather. Miss that little guy

or it could be a animal in the barn bet you never thought of the OVES.
a weasel will keep them out believe you me.

reply to post by americanwoman










I would check the barn thoroughly -

reply to post by Wildmanimal


I agree with a predator lurking.

Animals always know.

...Definitely could be a predator came in to hide from the storm - and munch!

Maybe they are out in the rain getting marinated for you.

obligatory 2nd line

Maybe they saw the ghost of the colonel from KFC.

Although I know chickens react to a coming earthquake, I have to go with predator. If it were earthquake they would be on top of a building, they try to get off the ground. Not going into their space, I would say fox or snake.

Check for possums in the hen house.

A fox, coyote, or other predator will usually stalk kill and leave.

Possums will make themselves at home and stay a while.
They also kill chickens by the dozen.

maybe there is a chickenlover in your area. carefully inspect the chickens to determine the extent of the damage.

keep watch cause I'm sure there is nothing like instant lightning fried chicken, moreso than even the lickings of a finger

I've noticed that animals are sensitive to the weather. I've read that they can also predict quakes. It's always a good idea to watch them.

The barn is still standing. Although it really went crazy last night. Washed out my road and blew one of the barn doors off, wind must have been really strong to bust the lock. We haven't had any problems with predators since we put the guardian dog in with them at night, so I didn't automatically go to predator...could be the storm made them brave though seeking shelter. Guess I am stuck here until they fix my road or the field dries out enough to go around, at least the power is back on though.

reply to post by americanwoman


Good luck and take care.

Thankfully it wasn't worse.

Glad to hear you are alright - must have been some storm!

One of my friends had a similar problem with his chickens not going inside, on closer investigation he found a HUGE infestation of Red Chicken Mites living in the coop.
There pretty hard to spot unless you know what to look for and they drive the chickens crazy

How to find mites