I am new to keeping chicks, and unfortunately that has shown.

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DR2M

In the Brooder
Apr 14, 2018
7
20
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Mississippi
A few months ago I got 7 chicks from a neighbor. The chicks did fine, they were a week old when I received them. Once their feathers came in we had put them in a coop outside. It's a small coop but was a lot of room for them. And unfortunately we hadn't put a roof/cover over the top. They have been in the coop for 2 weeks till now. Last night something had gotten into their coop. When I noticed a chick lieing on the ground I went to investigate. 1 was alive, which I was happy to see, of other 6 however 3 were lieing on the ground, I didn't get to close of a look but it seemed as though feathers on they're face were missing, but their bodies were whole from what I could tell. Their was a piece off their chest missing, but there were lots of ants. The other three were simply just gone. A few feather were outside the coop but nothing more.
 
:welcome

Sorry your first post had to be one about losing your chicks. If you can post pictures of your setup, that would help us help you a little more in getting ideas on how to fortify it better. When you say you didn't put a cover on the coop, do you mean the building part of it where they go to roost at night, or did you mean the run - the outside part? It's hard to know what could have gotten them, as you don't have your location in your profile. But coons and fox are pretty common just about anywhere. Mink also come to mind, as they are my nemesis. This chicken keeping thing comes with a hard learning curve, unfortunately. I hope your lone survivor makes it and you can find her some company.
 
Sad indeed. Your predator is likely a raccoon or possum and possibly also a fox. The fox will take the entire bird away, often with a few piles of feathers along the path taken. A raccoon usually eats the head, neck and crop (don't know why, it is nasty in there!) and leave the body. Possums are similar (though I don't have experience with them) and eat the crop and maybe part of the chest. The ants are just "cleaning up" and had no part in the slaughter.

Suggestion 1: Get the still living chick out of the coop and into somewhere safe. There is a 99.9% chance the predator(s) will come back. Once they find the diner, they return.

Suggestion 2: Check out the coop building threads here to see what needs to be done for predator proofing. ALL openings no matter how small need to be covered with 1/2" hardware cloth affixed with poultry/fence staples, screws and fender washers or boards screwed to the frame. Make the coop secure before putting the chick back in.

:welcome and I'm sorry the reason you have joined is a sad one.
 
Good news and bad news. for a temporary fix we have fixed a large net over the run. It cover the whole run. So that's a temporary. And I also found two chicks (I'm not sure the breed of one, but the other is a silkie) running in our yard. We assume they escaped during the attack. However our area, pearl river county in southern Mississippi, had a stronger thunderstorm today with lots of wind and rain. 2 of the chicks are abit wet. I'm changing the wet bedding (pine shavings) out for dry. However the silkie does not seem to be doing good. I picked her up and she's very cold, and seemed like she had no life at all. I have since placed her in a box with pine shaving, a lamp, and a heat to help dry her out. Her breathing is more noticeable now and occasionally she'll kick her feet out. I'll keep y'all posted on her. The other chicks seem fine. I'll keep a close eye justness in case, and try to get them dry.
 

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