3 missing chickens.

[fehrlj]

I came home during the daytime to find 3 of my hens missing. Two small piles of feathers, but nothing else. No blood. No carcasses. They free range on our 4 acres which is surrounded by a corn field. Will a fox or hawk come get THREE of them?

 

[Lor]

Not sure about a hawk but pretty sure a fox will.

 

[McChooky]

You need an electric fence to discourage them from killing all your chickens. They'll come back for the rest if you don't keep them locked up until you can trap the foxes (not easily accomplished) The kits do grow up fast so you may have a family born this spring hunting them. Sorry for your loss!

 

[fehrlj]

Can I use an electric fence for free range chickens if I also have outdoor cats?

 

[McChooky]

Cats are smart and avoid them.I have a couple of outside cats too.By the way raccoons,bob cats,coyotes and foxes all kill cats so it could save their lives as well.

 

[fehrlj]

Do have a link to a recommendation for the kind of fence you use?

 

[McChooky]

My advise is to call a hunter and ask them to get rid of them for you.Once they find your chickens they'll pick them all off until they're gone. I've seen posts by people who've lost their whole flock to a family of foxes in the same day.

 

[McChooky]

Sorry but I didn't buy a kit (I purchased everything separate) I bought a Gallagher electric fence charger for a 1 acre lot (15 mile electric charger old stock but new) I have to replace all the insulators on my fence with extended insulators before mine works properly.(its grounding out)

 

[gtaus]

I came home during the daytime to find 3 of my hens missing. Two small piles of feathers, but nothing else. No blood. No carcasses. They free range on our 4 acres which is surrounded by a corn field. Will a fox or hawk come get THREE of them?

I live on a lake, and we have hawks and Bald Eagles overhead all the time. I cannot afford to let my chicken free range. Some people let their chickens free range during the summer and then don't have to worry about feeding any chickens over the winter. Hawks and eagles will take your chickens one at a time until they are all gone. I know some people consider chickens to be temporary pets. But I wanted laying hens and fresh eggs for at a few years.

So, I made a chicken run with bird netting on top. That has prevented any aerial attacks in 4+ years I have had my backyard flock. I bring the free range to my chickens in terms of raking up all my leaves and dumping them into the run, along with all grass clippings I mow up into my grass bins on the mower. Just about everything organic gets dumped into the chicken run. I converted my entire chicken run into a chicken run composting system. The chickens are outside all day scratching and pecking in the run litter. They find all kinds of bugs and worms to eat. In the non-snow months, my commercial feed costs are cut in half because the chickens find so much to eat out in the composting run.

Point is, you can have happy chickens in a chicken run that provides them safety from predators. In my experience, once a predator has attacked your animals, they will be back looking for more easy food. I guess it's up to you to deter the predators with increased protection of the flock. Free ranging chickens don't have much protection.