ALL my chickens are GONE... how???

[MyBohoBaby]

I woke up to my dad saying there was a fox near the coop.

Here is the coop i built *exact repleca*

http://www.catawbacoops.com/


I go down and they are all GONE. NO feathers... no bodies... NO CHICKENS.

Ive been crying for the past hour... I had 1 splashed cochin *my fav baby* and 2 brahmas and 2 black frizzles. ALL GONE... But NO holes... no getting it unless they are really really good!??? My only other hope is they got otu and survived? OR a neighbor stole them. I dunno...

Any ideas?

 

[bargain]

Okay, are these babies or full grown?

If babies they may have escaped through the wires depending on the size you put up.

I'm sorry and hope you find them.

 

[CATRAY44]

I am so sorry to read this. Hopefully they are just out free ranging! How many are there and how old?

 

[will hunt for food]

Sounds like it could be a "human predator".

 

[Ridgerunner]

I tend to agree with will hunt for food. Possibly human. If you check these links, you may notice some clue as to what it may have been. You'll see things we can't.

Oklahoma State – Clues to predators
http://osuextra.okstate.edu/pdfs/F-8204web.pdf

Clues to Predators thread
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=18670

 

[MyBohoBaby]

There is 2x3 wire (really hard wire) around the bottom. STUPID ME didnt close them up top. I really didnt think anything would get at them. NEVER AGAIN.

They were about 10 weeks.... So not small but not huge either. I def SAW THE GREY FOX. It came back when i got up... but really. NO FEATHERS??? NO BODIES??? Their water and food wasnt even tipped over where I saw the fox had attacked the wire.

Im still thinking someone took them... and I keep looking down there. Or im gonna see them.

UGH i just feel sick to my stomach... i was so attached to them

 

[sred98]

I just had a lot of my babies stolen. Only a human could open the door to the barn...and they took the food. However, if the top was open, a fox can climb and jump like you wouldn't imagine. Waaaay better than a cat! They also tend to carry their food off, and it is baby fox season. Unfortunately, it sounds like she fed your babies to her babies.

If you can follow her to where you think her den is, you'll probably find their feathers.

I am so sorry for your loss. Search around, maybe one got away.

Shelly

 

[MyBohoBaby]

oh and there was 5 of them....

Mimi... a splashed cochin
Ella and Ashlee... Brahmas
And Fluffy and Foofoo... Frizzled Cochins

 

[Wolf-Kim]

I think that the fox frequenting your coop is too much of a coincident for it to be a human predator in this case.

A fox will clean you out even before you know it and not leave a trace. I had a fox clean me out last year, took 4 out of six hens within an hour. They were just gone, I would have thought a person walked up and stole them, had we not shot the fox carrying off the 4th hen. He would have taken all 6, had he not been shot.

He wasn't eating them, rather eating their heads and carrying them off into the woods for his mate to eat.

I'm sorry for your loss, but I think that grey fox is your culprit. May have to really double up the defense on your coop, or take care of the fox.

-Kim

 

[Brindlebtch]

Sadly, foxes will actually bury food to store it. I guess they aren't too picky if things get a bit ripe. So they will come back repeatedly until the food source is gone or until they deem it enough food stored. They will simply grab a chicken and run off with it to bury after mate and kits have been fed.