Missing Chicken: Questions

[MrFluffyandGirls]

Oh, thank you very much for telling me. That is most likely the case then. I'll still keep an eye out, but she hasn't been back for 2 days and its starting to look like she didn't run away. Thank you very much. Do you have any advice on preventing this? Should I keep a close eye on them all day? They roam free in the yard and the neighbors yard so I haven't had to worry about them getting into trouble until now.

If you can trap and kill the culprit would be ideal but there will always be dangers regardless. Keeping them in a fenced in "safe" area is a option. Unfortunately free ranging comes with it's risk.

 

[lyleg5895]

Another option, depending on how close your neighbors are and whether or not they have roosters, is that one of their roosters got to her and she's hiding somewhere with a clutch of eggs. We had a hen earlier this year disappear and we assumed that she had been taken.
A few weeks later she hatched out three lovely little fluffy butts.

 

[NatJ]

Another option, depending on how close your neighbors are and whether or not they have roosters, is that one of their roosters got to her and she's hiding somewhere with a clutch of eggs. We had a hen earlier this year disappear and we assumed that she had been taken.
A few weeks later she hatched out three lovely little fluffy butts.

Agreed, but no roosters required. The hen could be sitting on a clutch of hidden eggs even if the eggs are infertile. (No chicks would ever hatch in that case, but hens don't seem to think about that.)

If she's setting on eggs, she may show up briefly to eat, so keep an eye out--you can either try to grab her then, or follow her back to her nest.

 

[neo71665]

Yep a broody hen will sit on a nest of golf balls if thats all she has.

 

[shineandrise]

What breed are your chickens, hawks can grab chickens easily and we have had several raccoon attacks during the day. Does your neighbor have any idea how many chickens she originally had? Is your property either big with lots of trees or surrounding trees/you don't have a lot of houses near you? If so it was probably a predator. If you suspect it was hawks then what we do is rig up small shelters they can hide under. Most chickens get the hang of it but you may have to train them by putting a treat under it. Hanging up old C.D.s also works well. If you think it was foxes/raccoons unfortunately there is less you can do in this situation but keeping a closer eye on them. If it keeps happening then you may consider putting up an electric fence. Hope this helps and you find your baby!

 

[23zwilson]

If you can trap and kill the culprit would be ideal but there will always be dangers regardless. Keeping them in a fenced in "safe" area is a option. Unfortunately free ranging comes with it's risk.

We might set up a camera to see if a fox comes around and then go out and set a trap. Thank you for the advice

 

[23zwilson]

What breed are your chickens, hawks can grab chickens easily and we have had several raccoon attacks during the day. Does your neighbor have any idea how many chickens she originally had? Is your property either big with lots of trees or surrounding trees/you don't have a lot of houses near you? If so it was probably a predator. If you suspect it was hawks then what we do is rig up small shelters they can hide under. Most chickens get the hang of it but you may have to train them by putting a treat under it. Hanging up old C.D.s also works well. If you think it was foxes/raccoons unfortunately there is less you can do in this situation but keeping a closer eye on them. If it keeps happening then you may consider putting up an electric fence. Hope this helps and you find your baby!

We live in a small area with many houses and plenty of

What breed are your chickens, hawks can grab chickens easily and we have had several raccoon attacks during the day. Does your neighbor have any idea how many chickens she originally had? Is your property either big with lots of trees or surrounding trees/you don't have a lot of houses near you? If so it was probably a predator. If you suspect it was hawks then what we do is rig up small shelters they can hide under. Most chickens get the hang of it but you may have to train them by putting a treat under it. Hanging up old C.D.s also works well. If you think it was foxes/raccoons unfortunately there is less you can do in this situation but keeping a closer eye on them. If it keeps happening then you may consider putting up an electric fence. Hope this helps and you find your baby!

My lost hen is a bovan brown, my other three are a bovan brown, thode island red, and an australorp. We live in a small neighborhood with close neighbors and plenty of trees that the chickens hide under. The neighbor with chickens lives only 2 or 3 houses down. They didn't mention knowing how many they had started with. Ive also seen possums around. We live right next to some woods as we'll. I'll keep an eye out for her and set up a camera to try to see if a predator comes by. For now we're gonna keep a close watch on them when we let them out

 

[Elgorham]

Do you, or they, have a cock/erel?

Might be good to band your birds so you know which are yours?

Oh, and.... Welcome to BYC! @23zwilson
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View attachment 2362149
I hope your hen has come back, but I am in a similar situation. What would you have said if they did have a rooster?
We had a chicken go missing last night, and one of our roosters is injured, which makes us suspect a predator. We have two roosters so at first my husband thought they’d been fighting, but we then noticed the coop door was left opened , and the missing hen. Again I hope your hen returns, and ours as well. Our first chickens so it is a hard loss.

 

[ChickenButtsRanch]

I had 2 chickens disappear without a trace. My chickens are fenced into a large enclosure so ground predators cannot get in. So I theorized it to be flying predators. I put a net over the area and haven't lost any more.

 

[Gray Farms]

I had 2 chickens disappear without a trace. My chickens are fenced into a large enclosure so ground predators cannot get in. So I theorized it to be flying predators. I put a net over the area and haven't lost any more.

How tall it the fence? Foxes, bobcats, and coyotes can jump a 5 foot fence fairly easy, sometimes a 6 foot. Racoons and possums can climb any fence if there is no top. Owls and hawks will almost always leave feathers. Totally disappeared/no trace birds make me think of a coyote or bobcat first.