A daytime attack! By what?

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Chickens like most birds when fearful are designed to release feathers with the hope of leaving a predator with just a mouthful of feathers while the bird escapes, something I am familiar with when trying to catch my bird sometimes.

A human predator is always a possibility, though I don't think they would have the thought to dispose of any dead ones. I still would not count out a coyote, as they are quite bold, and very intelligent.

 

[andreanar]

I'm def keeping an open mind and reading the responses here and in other threads, as I'm not real experienced with predators. 0) I just keep going back to how the coop doors got closed, it bothers me.

 

[Cluckcluck1215]

I am so sorry for the loss of the little Pullet.

My guess is fox.I have had a drake and a Pullet disappear, No blood, feathers or tracks(tough the ground was frozen)and never saw a body, and my best guess was fox.Another could possibly be a bobcat?

Good luck and best wishes,
–CC1215
P.S.Are any of the birds injured?

 

[andreanar]

I am so sorry for the loss of the little Pullet.

My guess is fox.I have had a drake and a Pullet disappear, No blood, feathers or tracks(tough the ground was frozen)and never saw a body, and my best guess was fox.Another could possibly be a bobcat?

Good luck and best wishes,
–CC1215
P.S.Are any of the birds injured?

All 9 that were found are safe and sound without injury! Missing some feathers tho. But Ill take that, I'm so thankful

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Game cameras are always a good investment, they are fairly reasonable in price, come in camouflage, and can give you answers as to what is coming around your birds. Ours have shown us the coyote that took 10 birds before my husband got a good shot at him, the skunk that was eating turkey eggs, the deer eating my hostas, and my apples off my trees, and the three very fat raccoons feasting on cat food for a few months, before we put the camera on it. So it's definitely something worth having if you keep chickens.

 

[andreanar]

Game cameras are always a good investment, they are fairly reasonable in price, come in camouflage, and can give you answers as to what is coming around your birds. Ours have shown us the coyote that took 10 birds before my husband got a good shot at him, the skunk that was eating turkey eggs, the deer eating my hostas, and my apples off my trees, and the three very fat raccoons feasting on cat food for a few months, before we put the camera on it. So it's definitely something worth having if you keep chickens.

Wow, you have a lot of thieving critters at your place! haha. I'm going to buy a cam today. Also, trying to make up my mind about making a secure run with electric wiring or continue on with my goal of eventually letting them free range. Ive always let our chickens free range and I enjoy that so much. I have some decisions to make.

 

[Doobly]

-Both coop doors were closed with 1 pullet inside, when I left them open. I can see 1 door maybe getting knocked shut during the melee but not both, especially when I wedged one of the doors open under a roof board that's warped. Hence where I think the human came in. Person came upon dog tearing around coop, chasing chickens, sees on girl, sticks her in coop and shuts door. Either sees dead pullet and disposes of its body, or sees no dead pullet and shes just lost.
What do you all think?

The door thing is slightly odd to me too, can we see a pic? So glad the remaining 9 are okay x

 

[andreanar]

The door thing is slightly odd to me too, can we see a pic? So glad the remaining 9 are okay x

Didn't take pics and I don't have any photos of the coop on my phone. But here is the missing girl!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Wow, you have a lot of thieving critters at your place! haha. I'm going to buy a cam today. Also, trying to make up my mind about making a secure run with electric wiring or continue on with my goal of eventually letting them free range. Ive always let our chickens free range and I enjoy that so much. I have some decisions to make.

I would set up your camera and see what you see, a predator will return, a human shouldn't. I find it healthier on my birds to free range, and I accept that there may be loses. We do things to minimize predation. There's plenty of cover, the fields are kept trimmed so the chickens can see predators coming, we have donkeys who help, plenty of roosters for look outs and lots of hiding places for chickens.

It all depends on how you view your chickens. If you cherish everyone and think of them as solely pets than free ranging isn't recommended. If you see your birds as a flock, with revolving members than loses are certainly upsetting but the gains of free ranging outweigh the bad.

 

[andreanar]

I would set up your camera and see what you see, a predator will return, a human shouldn't. I find it healthier on my birds to free range, and I accept that there may be loses. We do things to minimize predation. There's plenty of cover, the fields are kept trimmed so the chickens can see predators coming, we have donkeys who help, plenty of roosters for look outs and lots of hiding places for chickens.

It all depends on how you view your chickens. If you cherish everyone and think of them as solely pets than free ranging isn't recommended. If you see your birds as a flock, with revolving members than loses are certainly upsetting but the gains of free ranging outweigh the bad.

I agree totally.