Chickens Reluctant emerge from House in the Morning

[Bramax]

Hello

Normally when I approach the hen house in the morning I can hear the girls, keen to be let out and when I open the pophole they can't wait to get out and go straight to their food.

However the last two mornings have been different. No noise as I approach. I open the pophole and none of them emerge. After a while they emerge cautiously but wander tentatively around the run and don't go to their food. They do eventually eat and behave normally but this behaviour seems odd to me. I only have three birds and they are all behaving the same way. Are there any particular signs of illness I should be looking out for. does anyone have any ideas or experience of anything similar?

I was wondering if maybe a fox is coming round during the night and scaring them?

Any ideas will be gratefully received.

Thank you.

 

[dinosaw]

The usual universal signs of illness to watch out for are a hunched posture, lethargy and lack of appetite. Funnily enough as I was reading down the post I thought exactly the same as you about them being spooked by a predator, have you had any eggs layed during the night below the perches?, I ask as this has been cited as a sign of predators spooking birds before.