Hen is missing!

3chickchicks

Songster
9 Years
Jun 25, 2013
618
184
206
Utah
I've now lost two full grown birds! 
The first one I thought my dog had done it because I found him with her. But there had been a pile of feathers under the kitchen window where I suspect the initial attack took place and I found her and the dog on the other side of the yard. I wonder now if something attacked her, caught the dog's attention and he scared the attacker off. But because she was flailing, he "finished the job".
But now I have another one missing. I've looked all over the yard and can't find her. I haven't found any of her feathers or body parts. She's just vanished! 
The first one was a LF buff brahma. She was attacked late afternoon. The second a Dominique and likely attacked late evening.
I live in the city and the yard has a 6 foot privacy fence. How do I catch whatever is taking my birds?
 
Last edited:
I've now lost two full grown birds!
The first one I thought my dog had done it because I found him with her. But there had been a pile of feathers under the kitchen window where I suspect the initial attack took place and I found her and the dog on the other side of the yard. I wonder now if something attacked her, caught the dog's attention and he scared the attacker off. But because she was flailing, he "finished the job".
But now I have another one missing. I've looked all over the yard and can't find her. I haven't found any of her feathers or body parts. She's just vanished!
The first one was a LF buff brahma. She was attacked late afternoon. The second a Dominique and likely attacked late evening.
I live in the city and the yard has a 6 foot privacy fence. How do I catch whatever is taking my birds?

Have you since made adjustment to how you keep the dog and birds? Whether he did it or just participated at the end (I'd lean to the former myself - a kill and then move the kill to a new location is not unusual for a dog) he participated. How long has it been between attacks/losses?
 
Last edited:
Have you since made adjustment to how you keep the dog and birds? How long has it been between attacks/losses?

Yes. The dogs have not been out when the birds are out. Last attack was 1.5-2 weeks ago.

I can't be for certain that she was in the coop last night. I thought I saw her last night but she wasn't there this morning.
The coop shows no signs of an attack.
 
Last edited:
Crisis is cancelled!!!

After researching signs to look for in case I missed any, I went back outside to look. I opened the door and heard the missing hen squawking at me for treats, then she strolled up like nothing was wrong. Gah!
 
Great news!!! So it sounds like she had "flown the coop" and then came back? If so there are some ways you discourage future excursions to keep her safe from what she might meet on the other side of your fence.
 
Great news!!! So it sounds like she had "flown the coop" and then came back? If so there are some ways you discourage future excursions to keep her safe from what she might meet on the other side of your fence.

Last night my husband closed the shed door (I had left it open). After looking for her in the shed and not finding her, I left it open just in case. Since finding her, I closed the shed and wonder if she was in there.
It's just weird because she is not a quiet bird and always squawks for treats when she hears or sees me. Until I'm trying to find her, of course. Thanks for your help though!
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom