Knowing when your bird is sick and treating the bird is all a part of being a responsible chicken owner. You’d need to know the signs of a sick chicken so you can quickly pick up on illnesses in your bird and treat it.
A chicken hiding may make you think that your bird is sick, this article looks at why your chicken is hiding during the day.
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Why is my chicken hiding during the day?
If your bird’s behavior starts to change, if the bird starts hiding during the day when it isn’t used to doing this, then you’d rightfully be very confused.
Here is why your chicken may be hiding during the day:
The bird is in pain or is sick:
If a bird is sick or in pain then it will do its best to hide signs of being in pain or being sick, this may make it difficult for you to know that the bird is in pain but that is exactly what the bird wants, it’s a survival instinct.
In the wild, sick or weak birds were preyed upon by predators so the sick birds would mask signs of being sick or in pain to keep predators away.
This may be what your bird is doing by hiding away during the day.
What to do:
You’d need to investigate to see if the bird is in pain or is sick
You can also look out for other signs that show that the bird is in pain, this includes a change in temperament, being uncomfortable overall, dropped wings, biting or chewing at the painful site.
You’d also need to look out for the bird is sick, signs of this include poor general appearance, weakness, no appetite, fluffed feathers, inactivity, and depression.
If you think that the bird is in pain or sick then you’d need to take the bird to the vet who will diagnose the bird and figure out the problem and the source of the bird’s pain or illness.
The vet may treat the source of the bird’s pain as well as give the bird painkillers to help the bird feel better until it has fully recovered.
If the bird is sick then your vet will run some tests to diagnose the bird’s sickness and will give the bird the appropriate treatment.
Fear of predators:
Your bird may be hiding away because it is fearful of any predators that may be lurking around.
Your bird may have also seen a predator around and the bird may have been scared into hiding during the day.
Almost anything could be a chicken predator including dogs, cats, foxes, raccoons, or even loud sounds
What to do:
If you think that this is why your bird is doing this then you’d need to keep your domestic pets away from your chickens by enclosing your cat or dog in their own area away from the chickens.
Also, make sure you keep outside predators away from chickens by installing fences, you can also use electric fences.
Also, install hardware mesh 6 inches deep into the ground to keep digging predators at bay.
Fear of the flock:
Another reason why your bird may be hiding out during the day may be that the bird is scared of the flock. If your bird is young, weak, or new then the bird may be being bullied by the other birds.
Your bird may simply be hiding out because it doesn’t want to be picked on by its flockmates.
What to do:
The weaker bird being picked on by the rest of the flock is normal, you can let the bird be. This bird will eventually move up in the pecking order as it grows stronger.
Once higher up it will stop hiding out
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other bird related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Chicken Hiding In A Corner, Why Is My Chicken Hiding Her Head?, Why Do Chickens Jump On Your Back?, Why Do Chickens Jump On Each Other?, Why Is My Chicken Hanging Her Head?, Chicken Standing Still With Eyes Closed