I don't know if my chicken is gone or what

[MrsRichey201126]

I have 9 chickens 8 are girls .
Well one of my leg horns didn't come in to roost tonight . I don't know where she could be . I also have 4 younger chickens I raised and 3 babies right now .
Well all of them came to roost tonight but the one . And yes they are free range .. I highly doubt any kind of hawk got her because I've been with them most of the day and I haven't seen any . She's the only one missing though. Could she possibly be off hatching babies ? I haven't never witnessed this particular behavior so I need advice. So advice would be great as well as insight on what might be going on for most of the day.

 

[hysop]

White Leghorns aren’t known to go broody but I’m sure it’s not impossible. How big is the area they free range?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

She might be feeling safer in a tree if something spooked her

 

[MrsRichey201126]

White Leghorns aren’t known to go broody but I’m sure it’s not impossible. How big is the area they free range?

Like 2 1/2 acres

 

[MrsRichey201126]

She might be feeling safer in a tree if something spooked her

Yeah I'm not sure we don't have very many trees around our property.

 

[MrsRichey201126]

White Leghorns aren’t known to go broody but I’m sure it’s not impossible. How big is the area they free range?

Like 2 1/5 acres

 

[hysop]

Hmm do you guys have other predators like foxes and stuff? When you say you were watching them was that all the time it just here and there? Hopefully she is broody, if she is then you won’t see her for a while but I would go search for her just in case

 

[TheOddOneOut]

She may be broody. It isn't unheard of in Leghorns.
But it is possible that she was killed by a predator. Sometimes there is no evidence.
One (VERY unlikely) thing is, if there is absolutely no evidence, is someone could have taken her. One funny/ weird story I heard from a friend was: One day they went out to lock the coop up and noticed that two of their Partridge Rock hens were missing. They checked their yard cam to see if a predator had gotten them. They saw a car pull up and someone jump out and grab the two hens, and then speed off. Thankfully the cam caught the plate number, and they were able to get their hens back. Again, PROBABLY nothing like that.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Are you in a rural or urban setting? Do you have predators like stray dogs, coyotes, raccoons, badgers, big cats, anything like that? Aerial predators like hawks have been known to swoop down and snatch a bird practically from under a guardian's nose, so being out there with them is no guarantee of safety. On the other hand, she may be cultivating a hidden nest somewhere. Good luck finding her!

 

[hysop]

She may be broody. It isn't unheard of in Leghorns.
But it is possible that she was killed by a predator. Sometimes there is no evidence.
One (VERY unlikely) thing is, if there is absolutely no evidence, is someone could have taken her. One funny/ weird story I heard from a friend was: One day they went out to lock the coop up and noticed that two of their Partridge Rock hens were missing. They checked their yard cam to see if a predator had gotten them. They saw a car pull up and someone jump out and grab the two hens, and then speed off. Thankfully the cam caught the plate number, and they were able to get their hens back. Again, PROBABLY nothing like that.

My husband and I were driving home one day years go and we saw a small flock of hens near the road. Our first thought was they were left there and we wanted to rescue them, but then we thought maybe they belong to someone, lets just leave em be. We never did find out if they were strays or someone’s flock who happened to wander too close to the road.