3 chickens GONE without a trace?!??

[cheecharrones]

hey everyone! i haven’t been on here in a few months but i figured this would be the best place to post such a question.
i have a flock of 8 (5 are just shy of 16 weeks old and the other 3 are 14 weeks). they free range on my property until i put them to bed at around 4-5 pm (hour varies, but always before sunset). today i went to put them to bed, THREE of them were missing. THREE WHOLE CHICKENS DISAPPEARED! i did an exhaustive search of my entire property and all outbuildings. they were nowhere to be found. do chickens wander off? the three that went missing were part of my older group of 5 and they usually never split up. we have hawks, coyotes, foxes, and vultures (they will kill if they feel compelled) but we’ve never had any issue with them! if it was one chicken i could see it being a hawk or something but THREE? plus i have a toddler so i’m outside the majority of the day and i feel like i would have seen/heard something like that. anyone have any thoughts??? thanks in advance everyone!

 

[keesmom]

Fox or coyote could do it. It's also possible they got spooked by something and are hiding somewhere.

 

[cheecharrones]

Fox or coyote could do it. It's also possible they got spooked by something and are hiding somewhere.

but wouldn’t there be blood? or feathers or tracks or something? i mean there was literally no sign of a struggle or anything....maybe they are hiding, but they never split up like this!

 

[theoldchick]

Either they are hiding or a two or four-legged predator got them. Foxes are accomplished hunters that leave very little signs of attack. They snatch a chicken by the neck and run.

 

[cheecharrones]

Either they are hiding or a two or four-legged predator got them. Foxes are accomplished hunters that leave very little signs of attack. They snatch a chicken by the neck and run.

thank you for your response! 2 legged?! like a human?! i checked my cameras but i didn’t see anything a fox would make sense i guess but they don’t hunt in packs do they? i guess it’s possible that one was taken from this world, and the other 2 got scared and hid....

 

[keesmom]

I've had a fox take a half dozen birds with almost no trace. I've also had birds that have had a close call with something and are too afraid to move even though the sun is setting. Hopefully they will pop up in the morning.

 

[NatJ]

i did an exhaustive search of my entire property and all outbuildings. they were nowhere to be found. do chickens wander off?

Sometimes chickens do decide to sleep outside, maybe in a tree or bush.
I've "lost" a few chickens that turned up just fine the next morning--I thought I searched everywhere, but must have missed something!

Or if something scared those chickens, they could have gone far enough to get lost, or just too far to come home by bedtime.

If you haven't found any blood or feathers, I would wait until at least halfway through the next day before giving up on them.

 

[theoldchick]

thank you for your response! 2 legged?! like a human?! i checked my cameras but i didn’t see anything a fox would make sense i guess but they don’t hunt in packs do they? i guess it’s possible that one was taken from this world, and the other 2 got scared and hid....

My camera has always shown one fox visiting my coop. She can't do anything because of the electric wire. Foxes usually hunt alone. The females with kits will snatch a chicken and run with it back to her young.

 

[cheecharrones]

UPDATE!!!! thanks for your help everyone, good news! apparently i didn’t search hard enough bc they were in my garage! all 8 babies are safe in their coop, praise the Lord!

 

[theoldchick]