8 chickens disappeared, 1 found dead

[MrFluffyandGirls]

I live in a rural area with lots of coyotes. Because there are very few houses and NONE have chickens I have never had a problem. My birds only free range 2-3 hours a day in the main fenced yard around the house.

When the neighbors talked about getting chickens I told them the coyotes had never been a problem BUT if people start letting their birds run loose all day the coyotes would discover they are a food source and then all the chickens in the area would be at risk.

If free chicken dinners are offered wildlife will take up the tempting offer.

Chickens are already recognized as a food source to coyotes. Your fenced in area and diligence as a responsible chicken owner may have lessened the opportunity for them to stop in and have a snack.

 

[Rooapalooza]

Once in the middle of the night, there were several foxes sniffing around my run. In the morning there was still a fox running around the perimeter, and she did not leave, even with me approaching, until I was about 20 ft from her and yelling. They didn't get any chickens that time. I've never seen them in the middle of the day but I did have a neighbor call me once around noon saying they chased a fox off my property.
The first two chickens I ever lost were killed before dark in the evening. I found them dead with heads missing when I went to close their coop door. About a year later, almost all of my small flock was killed in the morning, most likely by foxes. There were about 5 missing completely, 3 corpses with no heads.
Anyway the point is that foxes will definitely hunt during light, but I think they are most active at dawn, dusk, and night. And they are not always deterred by people.

 

[Briandavid]

Did any of your chickens return this morning? My hope is that they scattered and hid after your one was killed.

The unfortunate scenarios: My first thought is that a hawk(s) may have taken your chickens. They can take an entire flock with no trace and hunt during the day. We read online that adding black hens/rooster to the flock can prevent this (hard to believe, but it’s worked!)

A fox could also be the culprit. They will kill and then burry the chickens as a stock pile for later.

What’s throwing me off is the one dead chicken left. Usually the only culprit there is a weasel as they kill chickens for sport. Is there any signs of attack on your one chicken when you examined it again? Bite marks, Scratch, or wounds? Also was it bigger than the others?

 

[bhp]

A hawk is quite possible, however, I've seen an owl swoop down, latch onto a chicken by the neck, and carry it off. The chicken merely shuddered a couple of times as the owl flew away with it's catch. My guess is the owl hit the chicken with such a force around the neck, that it died instantly. This was surprising to me because it was the middle of the day, and I thought an owl was a more nocturnal predator. That's when hardware cloth became a necessity to my chicken run.

 

[cmom]

So Sorry for your loss. My suggestion would be to put up a game camera. Most likely a predator discovered your birds. I don't free range anymore due to losses in the past. Even though you may not see the predators during the day they may still be lurking looking for an opportunity. It's inevitable, when you free range, the birds will be discovered and eventually you will loose some birds. I have several game cameras up and many nights I see a predator on one of the cameras. I do have electric wires around my coops and pens, concrete under the gates and heavy duty netting covering all of the pens also due to losses from predators in the past. Last year I lost my favorite bird to a fox during the middle of the day. I did find a trail or feathers but never found her. I hope your birds come back. This one has been coming around pretty regularly. Around a month ago I'm pretty sure it tested the electric wires around the coops and pens around midnight. I heard something. Once they test the wires they don't usually test them again. I think this is a young fox that was evicted and now has to hunt on it's own. It's pretty skinny.

 

[Big Doggie]

Our 11 chickens free range during the day on our 4 acres of wooded land.
They always come back around 7pm, hang out in the backyard for about an hour and then put themselves to bed around 8pm

Around 7, there was only 3 chickens in the yard, our 2 roosters and our only Easter Egger

My husband and I looked through the woods, calling but couldn't see or hear the other 8 chickens anywhere.
As we were walkimg back to the coop, we saw one of the younger ones dead by the gate of the chicken yard.
No blood, no feathers missing and no feathers on the ground near it.

We searched around the area some more and didn't find anything.
No sign of an attack, feather or blood.

I kept checking to see if the others had come back but it is dark outside now and they are still gone. We closed up the coop with the remaining 3 in it.

They've been free range-ing for over a month now and this is the first time anything like this has happened

What could have gotten 8 chickens?
Is it possible the others are just hiding?
I'm really hoping at least some of them come home in the morning

Any updates?

 

[GoodStuffMaynard]

Did any of your chickens return this morning? My hope is that they scattered and hid after your one was killed.

One came back the next morning.
I let the remaining 3 of out their coop, into their fenced in area and left for about an hour.
Came home and one of the younger ones was just hanging out in the yard with the other 3 like nothing happened.
All 4 keep hanging out in their coop though and seem spooked.


What’s throwing me off is the one dead chicken left. Usually the only culprit there is a weasel as they kill chickens for sport. Is there any signs of attack on your one chicken when you examined it again? Bite marks, Scratch, or wounds? Also was it bigger than the others?

It was actually one of the smaller ones of the group.
And it had no marks what so ever.

I did find some paw prints in the sand near their coop that looked like a medium sized dog.
I'm hoping more come back over the next couple days but I'm not holding my breath

 

[GoodStuffMaynard]

Did any of your chickens return this morning? My hope is that they scattered and hid after your one was killed.

The unfortunate scenarios: My first thought is that a hawk(s) may have taken your chickens. They can take an entire flock with no trace and hunt during the day. We read online that adding black hens/rooster to the flock can prevent this (hard to believe, but it’s worked!)

A fox could also be the culprit. They will kill and then burry the chickens as a stock pile for later.

What’s throwing me off is the one dead chicken left. Usually the only culprit there is a weasel as they kill chickens for sport. Is there any signs of attack on your one chicken when you examined it again? Bite marks, Scratch, or wounds? Also was it bigger than the others?

One of the younger ones came back that next morning. I let the remaining 3 out into their yard and left for about an hour and when I came home, the missing one was just hanging out in the fenced in area with the other 3.
All 4 have been hanging out inside their coop during the day, which is weird for them.

 

[GoodStuffMaynard]

Any updates?

One of the younger ones came back that next morning.
I had let the 3 remaining chickens out into their fenced in yard and left for about an hour, when I came home the missing one was in the fenced area with the other 3. All 4 are wanting to stay in their coop for most of the day now.
I'm hoping more come back but I doubt they will :/

 

[RainbowHen]

Sounds like a coyote or dog to be honest. A weasel will kill for fun and leave the bodies, also. Either your birds are hiding, have been carried off, or you just haven't found the bodies. I hope they are hiding. You'll need a covered and secure run or you'll lose them all. Whatever got them will come back. Many supposed nocturnal hunters are opportunistic and can and will kill during the day. Hard lesson learned. Best of luck.