Chick missing out of closed coop

[1stTimeChicken]

Hi,
we had somewhat of a mystery happen this week. One of our chicks that's been raised by our broody went missing out of closed coop without a trace. We looked all over for feathers, beak, wings, legs, nothing. Not even feathers from an agitated mom hen. It's just gone. What kind of predator would only take one chick and leave 4 others??? PLUS, this mom hen is fierce. Nothing can get too close to those chicks without feeling the pecks of her beak.

I know it's only a chicken, but both my teenage daughter and I are rather crushed.

One of our hens went broody and we decided to let her have her desire and got her some hatching eggs. Only one of 7 hatched on June 2. (Easter egger eggs for a Australorp mom) After a bit of research we found that 1 chick would be rather lonely to we went to TSC and got 4 more chicks. It was risky, since these guys where about a week older than the hatched one. Mama hen took them right in and all was well. Everyone got along and the little EE was the one with the most personality, so cute. It was 2 1/2 weeks old when it vanished.

What could sneak up on a chicken and just take one chick without mom hen pecking the bajeebas out of it?

 

[Chicken Heel]

Sounds like a snake to me.

 

[WIchickMama]

Sounds like a snake to me.

100% agree is there is no trace of the chick anywhere

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

Or it could have been stepped on my mom and covered by the bedding.

 

[3KillerBs]

Probably a snake. I lost a bunch of chicks to a snake earlier this month:

And found a different and much larger one in my big coop this morning -- it seems to have eaten a golf ball!

 

[Chicken Heel]

I don't typically mind Black or King snakes hanging around as long as they don't harm the chickens but over the weekend I spied a young Copperhead in one of my coops. It has got to go.

 

[McChooky]

The eastern rat snake is the most common predator of chicks where I live.

 

[McChooky]

Probably a snake. I lost a bunch of chicks to a snake earlier this month:

View attachment 3160271

And found a different and much larger one in my big coop this morning -- it seems to have eaten a golf ball!

View attachment 3160272

I thought you had a predator proof coop.Do you leave the doors open during the day?

 

[3KillerBs]

I thought you had a predator proof coop.Do you leave the doors open during the day?

I do have a door open into the run during the day -- though I would not have expected a snake to pass unchallenged by chickens who attack anything remotely food-like.

I also have a 2-foot hardware cloth apron and all potential openings covered in hardware cloth.

I'm going to have to search the ground outside the apron to look for a tunnel -- maybe even dig along the edge of the apron. I would have started today, but my arthritis was flaring with threatened rain (that never materialized), so I was in too much pain.

 

[McChooky]

I do have a door open into the run during the day -- though I would not have expected a snake to pass unchallenged by chickens who attack anything remotely food-like.

I also have a 2-foot hardware cloth apron and all potential openings covered in hardware cloth.

I'm going to have to search the ground outside the apron to look for a tunnel -- maybe even dig along the edge of the apron. I would have started today, but my arthritis was flaring with threatened rain (that never materialized), so I was in too much pain.

I'm sorry to hear that! Its hard to get motivated when you're feeling bad .I don't think its going under the apron,probably the door or roof. They climb good.We had a problem with big rat snakes getting inside our young pea fowl pen years ago.They'll kill adult chickens if they're hungry