Missing chickens-help!

[justtheonethen]

My two littlest chickens are missing. They are free range and have so far without fail put themselves in the coop at dusk. I've just been up to lock them away and they aren't there.

What can I do?

They may well have gone up a low tree or bush. Hens do that if they are left out after dusk.

Take a torch and shine it upwards in the trees and bushes. Also stand quiet and listen for low clucking.

Thank you, ill go and try that.

Found them. On a low branch. Thank you so much!

Brilliant!

As a child it was my job to lock up the hens on the farm. Woe betide if I forgot. Try getting 30 hens out of a tree in the dark.

Haha! Two was fun enough
Poor things. One was sitting with her wing over the other as if trying to keep warm/tug on my heart strings!

You need to pop out a bit before dusk and shoo them in tomorrow. If they aren't very old they sometimes get a bit distracted scratching about and then the dusk falls and they just decide to roost wherever they are. They are very light sensitive. That is why battery hens are kept in perpetual light. They lay more.

Is their coop draft free by the way because its getting cold now and it will be cold if it is not wind proof.

Yep it's draft free. They obviously got distracted. I'll shoo them in tomorrow.