Bock-Bock-Bagock
Songster
Update: The Rhode Island Red returned, but no clue where the other two are. Hoping they decided to roost in a tree.
I have 3 ladies missing in action right now. Normally I let them out in the morning for a few hours. They never wander off the property. I am on 5 acres of mostly wooded hilly land. Normally they are within ear-shot. I can always hear them scratching the leaves foraging. We drove around the properties and through the connecting woods and found nothing. There are no signs of an attack. No feathers, no blood. Nothing. We looked all over 40+ acres of land for them. No sign.
Here are the options:
Neighboring dogs. They have some kind of hounds. However, they haven't been coming on my property and they bark when they chase and attack. So my dog would have alerted and I'd have heard them I'd think. They were chasing deer a few hills over the other day.
Hawk. There is a hawk that comes around. But the ladies hang in the tree line and under cover. Also the crows were fighting off the hawk. They always chase it off. Plus if the hawk was still around I'd assume that means it didn't get a meal yet. I'd think there would be feathers around at the attack. Plus the hawk wouldn't take all 3.
Foxes. We do have foxes. Haven't seen them in months. And usually, they have passed through by daylight hours. I'd also think 2 foxes wouldn't take 3 hens. PLus no feathers.
The only thing I can think of is an animal got one, carried it off, and the other chickens followed their friend not knowing any better. But I don't think they'd be dumb enough to follow a predator that took one. Or maybe something tried to get them and chased them off. But I don't imaging they'd go that far.
Sadly I can't think of anywhere else to look and anyhting else and have to go to work. So leaving the chicken run open and hoping they come back.
I have 3 ladies missing in action right now. Normally I let them out in the morning for a few hours. They never wander off the property. I am on 5 acres of mostly wooded hilly land. Normally they are within ear-shot. I can always hear them scratching the leaves foraging. We drove around the properties and through the connecting woods and found nothing. There are no signs of an attack. No feathers, no blood. Nothing. We looked all over 40+ acres of land for them. No sign.
Here are the options:
Neighboring dogs. They have some kind of hounds. However, they haven't been coming on my property and they bark when they chase and attack. So my dog would have alerted and I'd have heard them I'd think. They were chasing deer a few hills over the other day.
Hawk. There is a hawk that comes around. But the ladies hang in the tree line and under cover. Also the crows were fighting off the hawk. They always chase it off. Plus if the hawk was still around I'd assume that means it didn't get a meal yet. I'd think there would be feathers around at the attack. Plus the hawk wouldn't take all 3.
Foxes. We do have foxes. Haven't seen them in months. And usually, they have passed through by daylight hours. I'd also think 2 foxes wouldn't take 3 hens. PLus no feathers.
The only thing I can think of is an animal got one, carried it off, and the other chickens followed their friend not knowing any better. But I don't think they'd be dumb enough to follow a predator that took one. Or maybe something tried to get them and chased them off. But I don't imaging they'd go that far.
Sadly I can't think of anywhere else to look and anyhting else and have to go to work. So leaving the chicken run open and hoping they come back.
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