First predator attack - sad and not sure what to do next?

[TOR]

If I had 15 or more layers I would probably do some free ranging but with only 7 girls loosing just 1 would reduce my egg count by 4 to 5 a week. I got the chickens to have fresh eggs for my daughter and family and wife and I.

you have a very valid point, some people for which ever reason cannot for one reason or another free range.

 

[Myrkk]

Sorry for your loss, it's always worse when you raise them from young yourself.
It's surprising what predators are out there. Over the years we've had local dogs, foxes and a buzzard that tried to take one whilst we were sitting in the garden 6feet from the chook.
The one that upset me the most was the local dogs as the owners would not keep them in and they just chased and killed with no thought of eating. That's when I found out who the real neighbours were as seemingly one of my cockerels was wandering up and down the road and not one came to tell me. The dogs were acting on instinct the people were being douches.

 

[DBeaver]

Hey all. I always like to check on my flock in their coop at night, and last night was no different. However, I noticed that one of my Golden-laced Wyandottes was missing. This has never happened before. I found lots of feathers about 15-20 feet from the coop, but that's it. We live in a rural area in NW Georgia, and have about 10 acres of land. The chickens have lots of areas to 'hide' in, including structures in our yard as well as lots of shrubbery. This attack would have happened in broad daylight, and must have happened when I wasn't home because I didn't hear anything (I WFH but went to get the kids from school). In case it helps, the area of attack was under a couple of tall trees, near a carport, but it wasn't by the edge of the woods or anything.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't cry about this or have various nightmares about chickens last night. But, I'm trying to be strong and figure out the best way forward.

Right now, I have everyone locked up in the run. How long should I do this for? How can I determine what the predator was? I raised that chicken since it was just a few days old, and we've always free-ranged them without any problems, for over a year. I realize that's probably just luck, though.

In addition to 4 adult hens, I have 11 young hens and roosters (about 3 months old). I hatched a bunch of eggs back in May, but I'm still trying to figure out which is a hen and which is a Roo (unfortunately, it seems about 8/11 are Roos). I won't be keeping them all, but for now, they are my responsibility. I'm worried about keeping everyone locked up together - the run isn't huge and I feel bad keeping them confined like this. I also know it's important to keep them safe, though.

Any advice?

Thanks.

I posted Wyze cameras all around my house as the chickens circle the house at times. Wyze cameras are cheap compared to Trail cameras and I feel are easier to use. I’ve lost several chickens to free ranging. Two that I really cared about. I was able to look at the cameras and figure out what the predators were. One was a fox that will never take another of my chickens and one was a hawk that my Rooster watched and didn’t do anything. . I really feel people that free range should invest in some cameras. I could have been sitting outside and never realized the hawk attacked. It isn’t always as loud as you think it would be.