Disappearing chicks... WHERE DO THEY GO?!?!

[Jmanvanatta]

so sorry at least you still have one!

one is better than none. i never knew a rat would eat chicks or egg never had that problum

 

[Sazbaby]

Ya, I know, glad I only lost one, except it was THE one I wanted to keep the most! (of course...) We suspect rats only because they are the biggest thing that can get into the coop, and because we had problems years ago on a different farm with chicks being eaten at night- we had 4 chicks at one point, about 6 weeks old maybe, and at night they would sleep in the nesting box- came out one morning and found 4 sets of wings and nothing else... I think they all got eaten while the others slept... pretty disturbing, but never caught a rat in the act... Def. not a snake, and mice and rats are the only other things that can fit through the small openings in our coop, so they will take the blame...

 

[CAjerseychick]

SB, a weasel is not much bigger than a hamster (longer and more narrow actually) - they are pretty vicious/ my dad tells me stories about them getting into the henhouse all the time...Maybe that is what you have....

 

[Sazbaby]

My understanding is that a weasel typically will bleed a chicken out, consuming the blood, or will eat only the head, leaving the rest of the body behind. We have had problems with weasels in the past (or suspected weasels, I should say), and this is definitely different... No way to know for sure of course, but needless to say I am going at the coop with hardware cloth this evening to keep WHATEVER it was OUT! Thanks for the suggestion

 

[CAjerseychick]

My understanding is that a weasel typically will bleed a chicken out, consuming the blood, or will eat only the head, leaving the rest of the body behind. We have had problems with weasels in the past (or suspected weasels, I should say), and this is definitely different... No way to know for sure of course, but needless to say I am going at the coop with hardware cloth this evening to keep WHATEVER it was OUT! Thanks for the suggestion

That sounds Horrifying! Poor chickies.... I am a little nervous since the coop we built has a 2 inch space at the top under the rafters for ventilation.... Something a weasel could get through-- hoping that having the dogs have access to the yard at night will be enough to deter predators...

 

[Nsampsel]

That sounds Horrifying! Poor chickies.... I am a little nervous since the coop we built has a 2 inch space at the top under the rafters for ventilation.... Something a weasel could get through-- hoping that having the dogs have access to the yard at night will be enough to deter predators...

Easiest way to fix this issue is to take 1/2 inch hardware cloth & cover the opening. I built all of my coops with the vent holes facing into the run to avoid having to deal with covering gaps since most of my vent gaps are across the tops of the doors. My coop has larger gaps in the wire above "chick level" but so far the only predators I have had to deal with are raccoons. They actually reached thru the 2x3 hardware cloth & pulled birds thru piece by piece. They got 8 chicks, a nearly full grown Mallard drake & the wing off of my Silver Sebright pullet this way. Fortunately, I was able to save the Sebright by doing major surgery on the protruding bone with a pair of wire clippers doused in alcohol. She is happy, healthy & at the top of the pecking order. She just went to a new home today to make beautiful chickies for a friend of a friend. She will be quite spoiled, just as she was here.

 

[ruthdailey77]

The same thing happened to my chick except they were INSIDE and were about 3 weeks in a good isolated shelter. There were no signs of escape or struggle, and no large chirping noises. I was gone most of the day but the baby chick really just disappeared!

 

[ACros89]

I was hoping maybe the chick was just hiding, as there are several nooks and crannies inside the coop as well as a couple in the run, but the chick is nowhere. I even took the mama hen and put her a little distance from the coop so she would squak, and there was no response. It's like she doesn't care so much either, not like she's searching and calling for the chick or ANYTHING. It's sort of like the chick never existed? A predator is very unlikely, I checked all the boards and wire this morning to be sure, and about the only thing that can get in there would be mice/rats/snakes, since there is a small opening at the bottom of the door. I've had rats eat chicks before but never a chick that was under its mama, leaving everyone else alone??? There's no sign of distress either, I'm just so confused. I would love for it to show back up at a random time, would make me so thrilled actually, this little buggar was really high quality and was going to be a keeper no matter what... It just all boggles my mind. The only thing I can figure is that one of the hens killed and ate it??? But certainly not its mama, and the other hen just stays with her own chicks, didn't seem concerned with the others in the least. I just don't understand and am so frustrated to keep losing chicks over and over again despite efforts to keep them safe.

I just had the exact same thing happen. My broody hen hatched three healthy babies, and when I went to the coop today, I’m down to one. No sign of them anywhere. It’s so frustrating.