Chick(s) ran away?

[citychickens2014]

I have raised chickens the last two years in a suburban environment and had no problems last year but for some reason this year I have lost two chicks. I sadly forgot to shut the coop door and woke up to find one of my Silkie chicks gone. I do have many chickens, two Ancona hens and at the time two Silkie chicks. The chick went missing about a week ago and its sister chick has been screaching ever since that night trying to find its sister. I thought that if I went and bought another chick the same age/size it would stop screeching so I purchased a polish chick and introduced it to my small flock yesterday. All went well so I left them in their chicken run while leaving to run some errands. After returning home 2 hours later I came home to find the two Anconas and Silkie chick on the side of my shed on my wood pile (only about 10 yards from their coop) but there was no polish chick in sight. I looked for another hour or so until it got dark and hoped to find it this morning in one of bushes or small trees. Does anyone have any tricks for attracting it back to the coop? My border collie watched them all day so I am positive nothing got to them under her supervision yesterday. The chick is about 4-5 weeks old. Would the polish chick venture far on its own without the other chicks since they were only together 4 hours before it disappeared?

 

[chicmom]

So did someone open your chicken run so the hens and your chick escaped? Is your run covered? Perhaps a hawk swooped in, scared the heck out of your hens and they flew out, and maybe the hawk took the chick......This can literally happen without a trace.......

I sure hope you find the chick, but I'm thinking it's been taken........Seems like once a year I lose a young pullet or cockerel to a hawk.....It's gotten so I became aware of the times the hawks lurked around.......It's usually noonish, so I would just keep mine in until I got home from work at 5pm, and all has been well......(I let mine free range because I live out in the boonies......)

So sorry to hear this!

 

[Nicole01]

I'm so sorry your chick is missing.

. There are so many predators at night that may have swiped the poor little thing. Once the chicks are in the coop for the night, they will not get up and leave until morning when it's time. Chickens are always on a strict night schedule. Unless the chick was scared of something and escaped. I'm very sorry.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum!

Glad you joined us!

When you get new chickens, you need to keep them locked up for about a week so they learn where home is. Otherwise, they can go walk-about. Just because you put a chicken with the flock does not mean that the chick is now part of the flock. It takes time for it to become integrated with the flock and accepted as a flock member. It is possible that one of the adult chickens chased the chick off, thinking it was a rival instead of a flock member.

It is possible something got your chick but it is also possible the chick just left on its own.

 

[citychickens2014]

Thank you, my chicken run is not covered and I believe they jumped from the ramp leading to the coop door to the fence surrounding the coop. All of the chickens got out. I do not let my chickens run around the yard free range because they have a large amount of space surrounding the coop. We just rearranged the coop are yesterday and put up a new fence to give them more space in the run. It was my mistake for not leaving the chick in a cage-like setting within the coop. We had done that with the Silkie chicks previous to this polish chick and I guess I was a little anxious to introduce them. We live in a regular neighborhood with two neighbors directly behind me and one on my side.

 

[citychickens2014]

I found the chick in one of my bush gardens. I was walking by and the bushes shook just enough toget my attention and I found the chick running through the bushes.

 

[wyoDreamer]

Glad that you found your chick!