Chickens disappearing....one at a time

[jennyalger]

We have been losing a lot of chickens lately!! We had 7 'babies' who were about 6-8 weeks old, and lost 6 one day and one the next. Now in the last two days we have lost one full grown araucana, one 6-8 week old guinea and this morning one full grown black sex link and the baby she and another araucana were raising together. We initially suspected our dog, and we don't rule her out on ALL the killings, but she wasn't even outside for at least the last two. All we are able to find are feathers. Some of these happen during the day and others are happening at night...I am beside myself...what could it be???

 

[rooster-red]

Do you have a secure coop & run?

Are they free range?

 

[jennyalger]

The chickens are free range during the day, but nothing has ever gotten into the coop at night. The one we lost last night was our own fault because the two mommies decided they didn't want to bring their baby in the coop at night, and we forgot to put them away...so I blame myself for that one. Yesterday, our guinea disappeared out of the fenced area of our coop, nothing can get under the fence as it's buried into the ground, so the only other way is over the fence...the others have all disappeared around the yard...

 

[jjthink]

Those are huge losses. I would immediately take every remaining live bird and put them somewhere secure until the culprit is found and/or the situation is made safe.
JJ

 

[Chirpy]

Well, Guineas are great flyers so it could have flown out (unless your coop is covered - didn't see that) and is either wandering around or then got taken.

The chicks, that's strange. Were they taken when fenced in? If so, what type of fencing are you using?

If they were all taken when they were free ranging then, there are a lot of predators that could do that.

That's part of the chances you take when you free range ... you will almost certainly lose some to predators and you need to decide if those losses are acceptable to you. They are to some people and not to others - so they don't free range. I free range only when I can keep a pretty close eye on my chickens... that usually means they are only out free ranging from around 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon till sunset here. I don't want to lose any of mine but they just love being out and I love watching them being chickens!

 

[SpottedCrow]

Sounds like an aerial predator, like a hawk or an eagle.