Hello! As you might have guessed from my introduction, I lost a fully grown Aracauna hen yesterday evening to an unknown predator. There were no clues at all no sings of struggle, no feathers, nothing. I have noticed several holes in the ground in the chicken pen, like maybe a snake or something not very big. Surely nothing took a full grown hen down a hole that size. The dogs (Border Collies) barked yesterday at something in the willow tree, but I didn't see anything and they lost interest. There was a flap in the coop yesterday afternoon too; one barred rock hen who is usually the most noisy was on the roost all by herself and very upset. The act may have already occurred, as I didn't check the others. I am so upset and very nervous now, since I have no idea what has taken place. I have stationed one border collie near the lot in an attempt to deter any other attack, but don't know where to begin to look. I have never seen or heard an owl, but we do have hawks, although I wouldn't think large enough to carry away a full grown hen. I picked her up every day, as she was always the last to leave the henhouse, and she was very heavy. The lot is too large to cover and we have plenty of hiding places for cover. I am soooo sad. Any suggestions?
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