I think that we lost a chicklet to an owl

[Scott E.]

We came home a couple hours after dark and went to close up the coop. My daughter counted the flock and noticed that one was missing. This girl (easteregger) had gotten into a habbit of jumping the fence, so we got out the flashlights and looked for her, to no avail. I said that hopefully she will be hiding close and will hear the rooster and come back. Well in the morning we ended up finding a pile of feathers and entrails right on the outside of the fence next to the coop. A little later we found the rest of her, headless, about 150ft away. I am pretty sure that an owl got her in the morning because we didn't see the pile of feathers the previous night. Also, a great big hoot/barn owl swooped in and landed in a tree overlooking the area where the chickens are that evening. The hen had just started laying.

 

[SueT]

Oh, that's hard. I keep my run covered w bird netting to keep chickens in and owls/hawks out. It would be an inexpensive, easy to install start.

 

[Gray Farms]

Headless bodies generally indicate an owl attack.

 

[Scott E.]

Oh, that's hard. I keep my run covered w bird netting to keep chickens in and owls/hawks out. It would be an inexpensive, easy to install start.

our run is an old pasture area 100' x 300', so covering it is prohibitive

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Before an owl kills a hen the owl will be sure to check the width of the hen's hip bones so that the owl can be sure that it killed the very best hen on your place. It seems like it anyway.