Help! My chicks are disappearing!

[Kimmi500]

Hi everyone,
I am hoping you guys might be able to give me a clue as to what is happening to my chicks. I have them in a pen with a 4 foot fence and a coop that they are locked up in at night. I have had one 6 week old Americauna, 1 8 week old Sex Link and 1 8 week old Rhode Island Red chick dissapear in the past two weeks. All of these babies disappeared during the early evening between 6-7:30PM. There was no trace of anything left behind. No blood, bodies, or feathers. They just simply vanished. Whatever is taking them is leaving the bigger pullets alone. I am at a loss. Any thoughts would be hugely appreciated! Thanks everyone!

 

[MadHens]

Are they being taken from the pen, or from the coop after they're locked in?

 

[Kimmi500]

They are being taken from the pen. I am in and out all day long checking on everyone. And they seem to dissapear during the early evening.

 

[Mehjr10]

Does the Pen have a top or netting ? Owl Maybe?

 

[Kimmi500]

No, there is no top or netting. That will be the next project. I have never seen any owls here, but that doesn't mean they aren't around. I did notice tonight that the yard had a very light "skunky" smell. No where near as strong though.

 

[Mehjr10]

It could be a hawk, here is a listing of the owls commonly found in your area. I had some young guineas that kept getting out my netting on top until I stitched it up really tight. Only bad thing was they usually did not make it back in. I had a pair of red tailed hawks nesting in the area.

http://www.dgif.state.va.us/habitat/landowners/infosheets/owls_in_virginia.html

Forgot this part.

 

[Kimmi500]

Thanks so much. I have seen red tailed hawks around. I will be putting a roof on their pen.

 

[wvtim]

sounds like a black snake to me. I had this happen to me last summer. I had several young marans in my small greenhouse and I was missing one every other day - turned out that a black snake was climbing through the window on top of my greenhouse that opens when it gets hot.

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Is there a chance the hens themselves are hopping out of the pen early evening to get to a higher spot to roost?

 

[Bulldogma]

I'm going to go with the "winged predator" guess on this one. Raptor.