HELP! Chickens going missing

[Chestnut]

.... There were recently loggers that came through behind the woods, so past the strip of woods is a desolate wasteland where nothing lives.

Within a couple weeks that area will hold more, and more diverse, wildlife than the old forest would. It may look like an eyesore but to wildlife its a buffet feast once the succession starts taking hold. By August it will probably be head high in weeds and blackberry bushes. Deer and turkey will love it, small rodents and reptiles, avians of all types. It allows the food sources to flourish at the ground level where most animals can reach it. You may prefer the woodlands but a clearcut is far from a wasteland.

Hope you get your fox. You could try a electronic predator call and rifle. I'd contact the VADGIF officer in your area and get their input.

 

[Pecanny]

Well the chickens we got were free, either we took them or they became dinner, and everything we have for them was made with scraps or refurbished. We don't own the property, so we really can't put up anything permanent, and we really don't have the money to. I'm gonna try to do what I can with what I've got. I haven't lost anyone else since something got into the poison the other night, so hopefully whatever it was bit the dust.

I knew when I got them that I'd lose a couple, I just was surprised I lost so many so fast, including the rooster. I guess next time if I lose one I'll be much faster and more aggressive with the critter hunting.

I hear you on the money thingy. I built my pen from scrap and such (in my avatar), and actually spent only $15 cash. I cut my own posts with a chainsaw, and got most of the material from a dilapidated barn. If you can get your hands on some regular ole 2"x4" rectangular yard fencing, it can be overlapped double to make an extremely strong barrier, and is much more economical than hardware cloth. About the only thing that can still get in is snakes, and unless you are raising chciks, they pose no threat other than eating your eggs.

I also got my first three chickens (all young banty roosters) from a friend for free that was overloaded with them. Within one day, one was dead by the playful teeth of my own yard dog. We then got another, and also got a little chick that we raised in the bathtub at the house for 2 months. We then moved the chick out to what we thought was secure pen, and within 3 nights she was eaten by a raccoon. The coon used the chciken wire for dental floss to get the chciken feathers out of his teeth I think. At that point, I realized if I REALLY wanted to keep Chickens, I would have to fortify my pens (I have two now). Since I fortified the pens, I have lost not a single one of my ten chickens.

 

[fatflamingo]

everyone already went over predators but if there were loggers and strips of open land they could be getting loss or stuck. i live in Georgia, and right beside woods too. there were loggers before i got my chickens a couple of years back, and i go hiking alot. the loggers left miles of open woods, and there were spare trees that i saw for myself fall and it was a mess everywhere. i have a chicken that likes going in the woods and she gets stuck in thorns sometimes so i have to go get her.

try listening out for their calls: if they are still alive they could be calling out for you, but they could be attracting wild animals so watch out.
i wish the best of luck to you.

 

[Unknowen]

I thought of that. Every time one went missing I would walk back through the woods calling for them and seeing if I could hear them anywhere. I took my puppy too, he's a sighthound, so if something's moving in the brush he'll find it. If my rooster had gotten lost I'm sure I would have heard him, he was REALLY loud. I'm pretty sure once I catch this fox my missing chicken problems will be over (for now).

Pecanny, that's an amazing pen for being built from scrap! Unfortunately we used all of the scraps we had to fortify their coop. The coop is an old shed that was falling down, and we took chicken wire, old boards, rocks, and metal scrap to make nesting boxes and reinforce the shed itself. We've had critters scratching at the outside of the coop and something pulling at the gate, but we did a **** good job reinforcing it. Nothing's gotten in the coop that we didn't want in there.

If we come across any more scrap I'm gonna start making a run type thing, but fencing materials are expensive and hard to find.

 

[Pecanny]

I thought of that. Every time one went missing I would walk back through the woods calling for them and seeing if I could hear them anywhere. I took my puppy too, he's a sighthound, so if something's moving in the brush he'll find it. If my rooster had gotten lost I'm sure I would have heard him, he was REALLY loud. I'm pretty sure once I catch this fox my missing chicken problems will be over (for now).

Pecanny, that's an amazing pen for being built from scrap! Unfortunately we used all of the scraps we had to fortify their coop. The coop is an old shed that was falling down, and we took chicken wire, old boards, rocks, and metal scrap to make nesting boxes and reinforce the shed itself. We've had critters scratching at the outside of the coop and something pulling at the gate, but we did a **** good job reinforcing it. Nothing's gotten in the coop that we didn't want in there.

If we come across any more scrap I'm gonna start making a run type thing, but fencing materials are expensive and hard to find.

As long as critters can't get in, you're good!!

I get lots of "Chicken stuff" really cheap from yard sales. You may have to improvise, but it appears you are good at imrpovising already.