I DO NOT BELIEVE THIS. PLYMOUTH ROCK GONE WITHOUT A TRACE? What ate her?

[Mary's Backyard Chickens]

PLEASE HELP!
Okay. So I went out to check on my chickens and check eggs this morning, and brought food scraps to give them. At first, I didn't notice anything. But when I poured food out, and Tiny (our chicken that is gone now) didn't come running to get some, I knew something was wrong. I looked in the cracks in the coop, everywhere in the pen, I even looked everywhere in the backyard to see if our dog Sugar had gotten her (which I doubted since we never let them free range). Nowhere. The funny thing is, I didn't find as much as a Plymouth Rock feather laying on the ground. No blood, no feathers, no anything. She is gone, without a trace. No, this isn't Oreo who looks like her, the one I was asking what breed it is yesterday. We have had Tiny longer and we know she's a Plymouth Rock because the person who gave her to us told us. I need to know what will kill a chicken to make it be gone without a trace. Any ideas?

 

[sourland]

Fox, coyote, bobcat, fisher - all are snatch and run predators that can readily scale/jump a fence and carry a large hen away. A lot depends upon where you are located. Fishers have a somewhat limited range, and bobcats are not generally common in urban areas - fox and coyotes are everywhere.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

Were they locked in their coop for the night?

 

[Mary's Backyard Chickens]

Were they locked in their coop for the night?

No, but I see many opossums coming around here at night and our dog protects them.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

I actually was at a window once and saw a grey fox snatch a one year old rooster. Left nothing behind, couldn't have guessed unless I was right there.

 

[junebuggena]

Could have been anything since they weren't secured overnight.

 

[Mary's Backyard Chickens]

Could have been anything since they weren't secured overnight.

They were secured. We have good fencing and covering over our coop, so no one can climb into it. Plus, we have a dog that barks at anything that comes outside at night and she's outside 247. She makes sure nothing gets in the coop.

 

[Mary's Backyard Chickens]

We have wire covering over our pen I mean.

 

[Ruralhideaway]

Also, sorry about your hen. Never easy to lose one.

What kind of dog do you keep outside? The coyotes around here will kill a lab. Running off a possum is one thing, but many dogs won't even happily take on a fox.

 

[Mary's Backyard Chickens]

Also, sorry about your hen. Never easy to lose one.

What kind of dog do you keep outside? The coyotes around here will kill a lab. Running off a possum is one thing, but many dogs won't even happily take on a fox.

I have a Husky, German Shepard, Rottweiler mix.