Chicken disappeared without a trace...?

[Elise_Hope]

Hello
We have a dozen chickens, about 2 months old. They have been out in the coop for about two weeks, and they free-range in our backyard throughout the day. When we went out to lock our chickens up in the coop for the night, we were heartbroken to discover one of our Buff Orpington pullets, Buffy, was missing. We searched our entire backyard (and a large portion of the woods behind it) and cannot find any trace of her. Not a single feather or drop of blood. None of the other 11 chickens seemed scared or traumatized in any way- scratching around as normal when we went outside. We had been gone from the home for about an hour (when we had last seen all 12 chickens.) If there was a predator, shouldn’t the other chickens have been scared and hiding in the coop so soon after an attack? Shouldn’t there have been at least feathers left behind? Any suggestions as to what could have taken Buffy would be greatly appreciated... I do not want to lose any more chickens, they are all pets to us. Thank you.

 

[waytomanychickens]

Hello
We have a dozen chickens, about 2 months old. They have been out in the coop for about two weeks, and they free-range in our backyard throughout the day. When we went out to lock our chickens up in the coop for the night, we were heartbroken to discover one of our Buff Orpington pullets, Buffy, was missing. We searched our entire backyard (and a large portion of the woods behind it) and cannot find any trace of her. Not a single feather or drop of blood. None of the other 11 chickens seemed scared or traumatized in any way- scratching around as normal when we went outside. We had been gone from the home for about an hour (when we had last seen all 12 chickens.) If there was a predator, shouldn’t the other chickens have been scared and hiding in the coop so soon after an attack? Shouldn’t there have been at least feathers left behind? Any suggestions as to what could have taken Buffy would be greatly appreciated... I do not want to lose any more chickens, they are all pets to us. Thank you.

did she fall in\ behind something in or around the coop? i have a chicken that jumps into the feed barrel if i leave it uncovered too long. raccoons or foxes can take a chicken without leaving a trace. consider a fence between the woods and the chicken area, even something simple will slow a predator down

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

They do fly ya know... Did you look on the other side of the fence?

Good luck I hope you find her.

Gary

 

[Elise_Hope]

did she fall in\ behind something in or around the coop? i have a chicken that jumps into the feed barrel if i leave it uncovered too long. raccoons or foxes can take a chicken without leaving a trace. consider a fence between the woods and the chicken area, even something simple will slow a predator down

Thank you for your suggestions. We don’t have much a chicken could get stuck in... but I searched anywhere I thought she could have accidentally ended up anyways. No sign of her though. We do have a fence around our yard where our chickens roam, but I’m guessing a hungry predator could find a way to get over it.

They do fly ya know... Did you look on the other side of the fence?

Good luck I hope you find her.

Gary

Thank you... we did go behind the fence searching for her, but we didn’t see any signs of her. I’m optimistically hoping she just wandered over the fence and will return, but I don’t want to get my hopes up.

 

[Flockincrazy]

when you looked in the woods did you look up i had a chicken that refused to sleep in the coop she roosted in a tree no matter the season

 

[-Dakota]

sadly, many predators can snatch a small chicken without a trace, especially if the chicken doesn't put up much of a fight.

I've lost a hen like that, only once though.

sorry about Buffy, but on the bright side, who says Buff is dead?
she might be just lost.

my brother had a chicken disappear for like three weeks then randomly showed up like nothing had happened!

 

[-Dakota]

when you looked in the woods did you look up i had a chicken that refused to sleep in the coop she roosted in a tree no matter the season

I too had a chicken that would lay in the coop, but absolutely refused to sleep in it!
always perches up in a tree, always on the same branch.

 

[Elizabethwood09]

Aerial predator?

 

[Arkansasmamasminifarm]

Hello
We have a dozen chickens, about 2 months old. They have been out in the coop for about two weeks, and they free-range in our backyard throughout the day. When we went out to lock our chickens up in the coop for the night, we were heartbroken to discover one of our Buff Orpington pullets, Buffy, was missing. We searched our entire backyard (and a large portion of the woods behind it) and cannot find any trace of her. Not a single feather or drop of blood. None of the other 11 chickens seemed scared or traumatized in any way- scratching around as normal when we went outside. We had been gone from the home for about an hour (when we had last seen all 12 chickens.) If there was a predator, shouldn’t the other chickens have been scared and hiding in the coop so soon after an attack? Shouldn’t there have been at least feathers left behind? Any suggestions as to what could have taken Buffy would be greatly appreciated... I do not want to lose any more chickens, they are all pets to us. Thank you.

I had issues with Coyotes when it came
to vanishing. But sometimes they may just be out there hanging out and will be back in the morning.

 

[FuzzyCritters]

Aerial predator?

Probably not... aerial predators usually (from what I've seen) swoop down and kill the bird while it's on land, then take the carcass. I have never seen an aerial predator just grab a live bird and fly away with it. After the kill they also leave a lot of feathers behind, and some blood, so it's not traceless.