Help my baby chicks being attacked in an inclosure in Georgia

[austinflores]

My horse barn is far enough away from the house that I cant hear any rukis. I live in northern Georgia. Yesterday after having chicks and chickens for a year in broad daylight I had a chick killed in a secure inclosure. The body looked as if a snack constricted it. Then later that afternoon another chick was killed but this time really torn up. No holes where a predator could have gotten in them, no shavings pushed away (where a larger animal might have distrubed) I have been lucky enough since out chickens are locked into a horse stall at night nothing has killed any. I just wish I knew what was getting the new chicks. I have smaller chicks in a watering trough and none of them were harmed. My husband made a PVC enclosure with chicken wire for the larger ones to be intergrated in with the more mature chickens. Now I had to put them in a watering trough also. Not sure what to do...
Any thoughts????

 

[BullChick]

Puzzles are not always good. What I am hearing (reading) is that one chick seemed crushed, and the other was ripped up. Right?
A possibility is the first was trampled, and the second was pecked to death. The solution would be keep everyone grouped off by size.
I am sorry for your loss, and hope everyone else is okay.

 

[songbird]

Rats? Although I never see rats in our horse barn, I always assume they are a possibility because of the grain. Hopefully it's not due to fighting amongst the chickens, but it does sound like you might want to separate them to find out.