I think I figured it out

[feathersnuggles]

Quote:
Good to know! Around here, the crows gang up on seagulls, who try to rob their nests. I swear, I've often witnessed crows, by the dozens, streaming in from MILES around to reinforce the local crows, who scream at the top of their bloody lungs. In seconds, the sky gets black with reinforcements streaking in! LOL. Seagulls never stand much of a chance, even though they're bigger, because they seem only to work in twos or threes. Lots of seagulls around here, but they just don't work together like crows.

 

[andi&ken]

We just have 3 hens who wander the backyard during the day and head to their coop at dusk. Last week one of them disappeared completely. I found NO evidence of an attack. I did not consider a bird could have taken them away. I am still hoping that she just got out of the yard and followed someone home.

 

[gsim]

Eagles need room to do a swoop & snatch on the fly and need to keep momentum up to take up a bird as big as a chicken. But they will land and walk up to something to kill it too if they are hungry enough or have young to feed.

Lots of people criss-cross their yards with colored twine and hang CD's all around to reflect light.

 

[babyblue]

we had a pair of redtails raise a baby in a tree not 50 feet from our coop and run, netting over the top is the reason all my birds are alive and well. the hawks even sat on the barn roof and coop roof eyeing the chickens up, but never a meal did they get.

 

[Kittymomma]

andi&ken :

We just have 3 hens who wander the backyard during the day and head to their coop at dusk. Last week one of them disappeared completely. I found NO evidence of an attack. I did not consider a bird could have taken them away. I am still hoping that she just got out of the yard and followed someone home.

What breed is your missing hen and what does the terrain look like around your place? I had a BR hen disapear last summer, lots of preds. around here so I thought she was a gonner, turned out she was just broody. We didn't have any roos last year so it didn't do her anygood, but in the case of a missing hen with no signs of attack the first thing I would do is look for her sitting on a hidden nest.​