Chick was killed and eaten in yard - how long will flock be upset?

ZaneyMama

Songster
9 Years
Feb 2, 2010
236
1
109
Boulder, Colorado
One of my 2 8-week-old chicks was killed and eaten in the yard while the flock was free ranging yesterday afternoon.
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Today, the flock is acting very scared and strange. How long will it take them to act normal again?

Is something still scaring them? I don't know what killed the chick, but I'm not letting them free range today.

Thanks!
 
Hi... they could be upset for afew days. Do you have any roos? I notice my roos will stand by each group of hens, in a protective manner. We havent lost any chicks or adults, not sure why...but i have lots of roos out there and Turkey/Peafowl. I wonder if the hawks see the larger birds and dont want to fool with them? I probably wouldnt let them out to free range either, and just watch things for awhile. Usually a predator will come back for an easy meal. If it is just a hawk, that will be difficult to notice...because you would have to be out there frequently watching things. This is the part i hate about raising birds... when something moves in and kills one of your babies, and you cant figure out what it was. Or... you let them out and you watch them...and something happens so quick you cant get to them quick enough to save them. We had problems this spring with a fox and 2 coons...and i was on watch all hours of the night. I lost alot of sleep till the fox finally moved on...and the coons were taken care of. I ended up getting a Great Pyr for guarding....that has worked out well. A friend gave us a loud beagle he retired...and that helped too.
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If they are traumatized, it may take a couple of weeks. Several years ago we were on vacation and our cocker spaniel got loose and somehow got in the chicken pen and killed 5 hens. The rest stopped laying for about 2 or 3 weeks.
 

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