Chicken missing and other chickens in danger

[SummerTheAnimalGirl]

Hello friends.

I own 12 free ranging hens, and recently one did not come home. I looked everywhere and only found a pile of feathers, so I am assuming she was taken by a predator. my poor Lily. Now I know that since my hens have been discovered they are in danger also. I read that you need to lock them in a run for a few months so that the predator forgets or realizes they are not easy to get. Right now we do not have a run, but are working fast to build one. The only problem is that it can’t be finished for a bother week, as we needed to order some materials but won’t be here for a few days. I can’t lock my chickens in the coop for that long as it is to small, and I am not sure what to do. I have been checking in them a lot, staying out with them in the evening and early morning, making lots of noise to scare if any potential predators multiple times a day. Is there anything else I can do? Please your help is much appreciated!
Thank you everyone.

 

[JedJackson]

If possible, only let them out when you are watching them. Otherwise there really is nothing that can be done without spending money for an electric fence, which won't protect against hawks and the like. Animal predators are just as determined to eat as humans are, so vigilance is required.

 

[SummerTheAnimalGirl]

If possible, only let them out when you are watching them. Otherwise there really is nothing that can be done without spending money for an electric fence, which won't protect against hawks and the like. Animal predators are just as determined to eat as humans are, so vigilance is required.

Thank you very much for your help, it is very appreciated! We are planning on setting up some trail cams and I am trying to be with them as much as I can until we have the run built.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

I have set a couple of mine up temporarily indoors in large cages (large dog crate), in a garage (not used for parking vehicles so no gas fumes), basement or in a spare bathroom, (much easier with small chicks in bathroom tub), but with as many grown chickens as you have, that would be very difficult. If you want to save them though, you might have to set them up temporarily somewhere safe.

I've got predators here, foxes, raccoons, hawks, owls...I built totally enclosed pens safe from attacks whether by digging under or zooming in overhead.
I noticed when I do see hawks catch prey, they'll rip out some feathers, then fly off with the meal, leaving that pile of feathers behind. Owls decapitate rabbits, take the head & leave the body behind. Raccoons will invade a coop & proceed to rip heads off of every bird they find, so the next morning a hideous bloody mess & many uneaten bodies are found. Foxes tend to carry off whatever they catch, so unless there's a struggle, sometimes there will be little, if any evidence of an attack.

Just try to get something built asap & set them up elsewhere for a bit, if possible. Lay down polyethylene under cages, it's not really that messy short term. Good luck!

Predator proof pens

 

[SummerTheAnimalGirl]

I have set a couple of mine up temporarily indoors in large cages (large dog crate), in a garage (not used for parking vehicles so no gas fumes), basement or in a spare bathroom, (much easier with small chicks in bathroom tub), but with as many grown chickens as you have, that would be very difficult. If you want to save them though, you might have to set them up temporarily somewhere safe.

I've got predators here, foxes, raccoons, hawks, owls...I built totally enclosed pens safe from attacks whether by digging under or zooming in overhead.
I noticed when I do see hawks catch prey, they'll rip out some feathers, then fly off with the meal, leaving that pile of feathers behind. Owls decapitate rabbits, take the head & leave the body behind. Raccoons will invade a coop & proceed to rip heads off of every bird they find, so the next morning a hideous bloody mess & many uneaten bodies are found. Foxes tend to carry off whatever they catch, so unless there's a struggle, sometimes there will be little, if any evidence of an attack.

Just try to get something built asap & set them up elsewhere for a bit, if possible. Lay down polyethylene under cages, it's not really that messy short term. Good luck!

Predator proof pens
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Hello! Thank you so Much for your reply and help. It is very appreciated! Thankfully we just finished the run last night! I am so relieved. Unfortunately we did lose another chicken. but they are safe now and I am very glad! Again thank you so much for your help

 

[SummerTheAnimalGirl]

Your runs look beautiful by the way!

 

[MamaWolf7]

Foxes tend to carry off whatever they catch, so unless there's a struggle, sometimes there will be little, if any evidence of an attack.

This is not my experience. Foxes in the hen house around here leave the same type of devastation as raccoons do. A neighbour lost 66 out of 120 chickens in a single attack. The lady I bought my house from lost half of her flock as well from a fox attack. Both incidents would have been worse if the owners had not intervened.