MISSING CHICKENS.

[spoikey]

Over the last three weeks I have lost four hens and lost my big beautiful rooster today. No feathers are left behind. No body parts. Nothing, no clue! They only seem to disappear when I'm not home or one of the vehicles are gone. Any ideas? This is happening in broad daylight. They are free range with lots of cover to deter airborn threats. My rooster was excellent about noticing anything in the air. I'm thinking I have a two legged predator.

 

[redsoxs]

Sorry to hear about your lost birds - nothing infuriates me more than losing birds to predators! If you've patrolled and aren't finding signs - feathers, etc., I'd suspect a coyote or fox - dashes in, snatches a bird and dashes out again - maybe taking it to some little ones back at the den. Most other critters (raccoons, hawks, etc.) would leave some sign from subduing/killing the bird and then take it just a little ways. Problem is now it knows where an easy meal is located. Gonna take something permanent at this point I'm afraid. Good luck to you!

 

[Ali75Logan]

I lost all of my ladies at the weekend, I was absolutely devastated & spent most of the day crying like a baby. luckily my daughters werent around as they usually open the house in the mornings & it was carnage. lots of lessons to learn but at a high price. My partner had put them in their run but not closed the house door or put the 'security' pallet against the outer door. So Mr Badger (we think although it could have been a fox) who has been testing a weak spot on the outer door for weeks managed to rip the wire from the corner of the outer door, then pulled the door open and then it was a free for all. Even if I had heard I think it would have been to late, one gone completely the rest just senselessly slaughtered. Bad enough finding that in the morning, but having to spend the next hour or so picking up feathers & scrubbing blood from the walls was just heartbreaking, especially as I am new to the chicken world. They were my pets, came when I called, followed me round the garden & even put themselves to bed. But I cleand it up, fixed the damage, made it more secure and moved them nearer to my house........... and went and picked up some more Rhode Island reds from the local free range farm. They seem to be settling in ok. I'm not cross with my partner...... I just shot him & buried him in the garden (JOKE, however he did sleep in the garden that night to guard against the returning bandits), but in all fairness he feels so bad I dont need to say or do anything, especially after I had to tell my two girls when they arrived home.... someone suggested I didnt tell them as I had already replaced them???? Someone evidently has never kept chickens or noticed how different they look or their personalities are.
The new ladies seem happy and started laying straight away, they are still working out a pecking order, but seem to be slightly more adverturous so I have had to fence off more garden.
I heard that human urine deters predators??? worth ago I guess? also human hair? so we are saving hair out of the hairbrushes and will plait it and hang it around and see how it goes.......

 

[Ali75Logan]

I lost all of my ladies at the weekend, I was absolutely devastated & spent most of the day crying like a baby. luckily my daughters werent around as they usually open the house in the mornings & it was carnage. lots of lessons to learn but at a high price. My partner had put them in their run but not closed the house door or put the 'security' pallet against the outer door. So Mr Badger (we think although it could have been a fox) who has been testing a weak spot on the outer door for weeks managed to rip the wire from the corner of the outer door, then pulled the door open and then it was a free for all. Even if I had heard I think it would have been to late, one gone completely the rest just senselessly slaughtered. Bad enough finding that in the morning, but having to spend the next hour or so picking up feathers & scrubbing blood from the walls was just heartbreaking, especially as I am new to the chicken world. They were my pets, came when I called, followed me round the garden & even put themselves to bed. But I cleand it up, fixed the damage, made it more secure and moved them nearer to my house........... and went and picked up some more Rhode Island reds from the local free range farm. They seem to be settling in ok. I'm not cross with my partner...... I just shot him & buried him in the garden (JOKE, however he did sleep in the garden that night to guard against the returning bandits), but in all fairness he feels so bad I dont need to say or do anything, especially after I had to tell my two girls when they arrived home.... someone suggested I didnt tell them as I had already replaced them???? Someone evidently has never kept chickens or noticed how different they look or their personalities are.
The new ladies seem happy and started laying straight away, they are still working out a pecking order, but seem to be slightly more adverturous so I have had to fence off more garden.
I heard that human urine deters predators??? worth ago I guess? also human hair? so we are saving hair out of the hairbrushes and will plait it and hang it around and see how it goes.......