2 Chickens missing, no sign of struggle or death

[dan2thecross]

This is my first post. I basically have been a reader for a while but never really had any problems that weren't answered by just searching the site. This one is kinda crazy though. There are 2 chickens out of my (what used to be) 11 completely missing from my flock. They were free range for a few weeks and ushered into their coop every night. They all stayed together and would sometimes break into 2 or 3 different packs, but otherwise were never alone in the backyard. We also have dogs to scare away most pests.

Well, 2 days ago one of the chicks went missing at 9am. I searched the perimeter and found nothing. Yesterday, a half hour after letting them out of the coop and getting coffee another went missing at 9am. I have cooped them all up today and will be expanding the run because they are used to free range, but with no sign of struggle or death I am completely confused as to how this happened. I was under the assumption even if they trailed off they would eventually return home.

We have a 6 foot fence around the entire perimeter of our backyard. There is a chance they could have gone over (or under in some spots) but that does not explain how they disappeared in a half hour's time with no sign or trace and also does not make sense that I did not hear anything nor did they attempt to come back home.

Either I have an INCREDIBLY stealthful pest in my yard who strikes in broad day light with no sign of struggle, or they escaped and ran off. I live in a rural neighborhood so I would also be surprised if that happened because I figure my neighbors would have said something by now. But alas, I am clueless. I lost one of my Buffs and a beautiful Easter Egg layer. So, I'm feeling sad and confused.

I could use any advice. Thanks!

-Dan

 

[jeepguy982001]

sorry for your loss. if it was a predator i'd guess a fox. But i had my chickens get out once and lost 2 one my dogs killed the other i never found and figured it got hurt and jumped the fence and died in the woods. strange enough the house behind mine no one lives in. i was driving up the street and seen something in the driveway and it was the other runaway chicken. this was about 3 weeks later it had moved into the porch rafters and was in the middle of winter, so i waited til dark and caught it and brought it home. anyways hope you find yours if not i'd guess a fox.

 

[Jenwa098]

I am sorry you can't find your chickens. We had a duck disappear without a trace but it was when we arrived home late one night and we suspected an owl.

When I was a child, a fox grabbed a hen duck in broad daylight while we were outside AND relatively nearby the flock. This was at about 9:00 or 10:00 a.m. My mom took off running after it, and the only saving grace was it couldn't get through the fence with Bitsy (the aforementioned duck) and dropped her. She was fine, and didn't even lose a feather. So it is possible it is a fox snatching them and carting them off without a trace. A small fox can fit through field fence, so you may want to fortify your fence with chicken wire if it isn't already.

Best of luck. Keep us posted.
JW

 

[dan2thecross]

I appreciate the speedy answers. I will search for signs of a fox and reenforce my perimeter as best I can. For now I may need to just expand the run and stop the free range until we can sort this out. I hope they turn up. But if a fox got them I doubt it. Thanks.

P.S. I live in Port Jefferson, NY on the north shore of Long Island. Foxes and raccoons are plentiful here as well as hawks. So these are all feasible answers thus far.