Disappearing week old chicks?

[Phoenix Farms]

I have two broody hens that are raising chicks outside in a pen. They sleep in a dog house together and sometimes my three banties sleep there too. We have lost 3 chicks. They just disappeared and there are no feathers or anything.

 

[Bulldogma]

Are they enclosed in a run with predator-proof fencing (hardware cloth, etc)?? If not, the neighborhood critters will see your yard as an open buffet.

 

[Bulldogma]

Duplicate post - Deleted.

 

[chicknmania]

Well they could have died and the hens might have eaten them, which they will do, sometimes. If I were you I would take the mothers and chicks and put them in a secure pen, where it's just moms and babies, until they are about five weeks old, and then they are mobile and fast enough to stay up with the others and stay out of trouble, too. When we have broodies hatching eggs, that's a matter of course for us..they go in their own pen with just mom and each other, til they're five weeks old. Then we monitor them for a while, when they join the flock, to make sure momma doesn't need any help in protecting them from the others.

 

[chicknmania]

And when I say secure pen I mean an elevated pen, small, and very predator proof.

 

[chicknmania]

The broodies will do a good job of protecting them from cats, and each other, but they're going to think twice about risking their own necks to protect babies from a weasel or something that might get in. Idk how old your chicks are, but sometmes they wander, and if they slip thru the fence, there's nothing mom can do to help them besides call them.

 

[sourland]

Is there a top on your pen? Coopers and sharpshin hawks readily target chicks and smaller chickens.

 

[Phoenix Farms]

We have chicken mesh fence and cattle panel surrounding the pen. The bantams are nice to the chicks and rarely go near the mommas and babies. They are around 1-2 weeks old right now and very fast. We think that the mommas are eating them since we have electric around the fence and there are no holes were a predator has been getting in. It seems as though the disappear over night.

 

[Phoenix Farms]

No there is no top and we live pretty much out in the middle of no where so I doubt neighborhood pets are coming up. We do have cats that enjoy killing birds but we've now seen any bodies (our cats don't eat their kills).

 

[Scott H]

Ravens and crows will take chicks, too, and right thru a fence if the holes are too big.