I picked up two 8 week old pullets yesterday to go with my last almost year old RIR hen. Everyone got along and everything was just dandy this morning.
Everything was fine this morning. They even came out on their own. My mom and I ran an errand at 10:30, and all three were out and fine. When we got home at 1, I noticed no one was around. I figured maybe Ruby the RIR was laying and I couldn't see the other two. She left at 1:30, no chickens. I put my son down for a nap and walked out there. I saw feathers behind the coop...
The new Barred Rock was hiding under the coop and was ok, the feathers belonged to the missing new Speckled Sussex. It looks like something sliced her neck and her side. Quite a few feathers were missing, no missing body parts. Some feathers were in clumps with flesh attached. Some were outside the coop, but it's really windy here today.
I didn't find any paw prints inside the coop, no sign of anything getting through the chain link/chicken wire. There is a hole in the middle of the open area of the netting over the pen, but it's maybe 4 inches across and I don't know how it could have gotten out.
I'm ruling out hawk and dog. Ruby and the Barred Rock are freaked. I picked up Ruby to check her out and the Barred Rock was trying to climb my leg to get at her. I stayed out there for almost an hour and they never left the under area of the coop. Ruby is sitting down with Sprinkles snuggled into her, not making a sound. So it had to be something and not an accident. Now is when I wish I had a trail camera.
The coop is 4x4 with the bottom enclosed on three sides to give them an area away from the wind. It sits in the middle of a 12x7x6.5 chain link dog kennel. I have 36 inch chicken wire wrapped around it. I have bird netting on the top. There are no trees nearby where something could drop on to it. I do not remember seeing the hole in the netting yesterday, but I didn't look. I can spread my hand out in it, so it's not nearly big enough for a hawk and there wouldn't have been a way out for it. I suppose a small raccoon or oppossum could have gotten in through that, but not sure how they'd get out either. And she wasn't actually eaten, just slashed, no missing parts.
Any ideas? We've lived here for 6 years and I can't recall ever seeing a raccoon in the daytime and never an oppossum day or night, but I'm sure they are here. We do have at least one stray cat that comes over sometimes, but haven't seen it by the coop. We have two stray dogs I've seen, but they are Labs and I didn't see any depressions in the grass (it's pretty long right now) and there's no torn areas of the chicken wire.
Everything was fine this morning. They even came out on their own. My mom and I ran an errand at 10:30, and all three were out and fine. When we got home at 1, I noticed no one was around. I figured maybe Ruby the RIR was laying and I couldn't see the other two. She left at 1:30, no chickens. I put my son down for a nap and walked out there. I saw feathers behind the coop...
The new Barred Rock was hiding under the coop and was ok, the feathers belonged to the missing new Speckled Sussex. It looks like something sliced her neck and her side. Quite a few feathers were missing, no missing body parts. Some feathers were in clumps with flesh attached. Some were outside the coop, but it's really windy here today.
I didn't find any paw prints inside the coop, no sign of anything getting through the chain link/chicken wire. There is a hole in the middle of the open area of the netting over the pen, but it's maybe 4 inches across and I don't know how it could have gotten out.
I'm ruling out hawk and dog. Ruby and the Barred Rock are freaked. I picked up Ruby to check her out and the Barred Rock was trying to climb my leg to get at her. I stayed out there for almost an hour and they never left the under area of the coop. Ruby is sitting down with Sprinkles snuggled into her, not making a sound. So it had to be something and not an accident. Now is when I wish I had a trail camera.
The coop is 4x4 with the bottom enclosed on three sides to give them an area away from the wind. It sits in the middle of a 12x7x6.5 chain link dog kennel. I have 36 inch chicken wire wrapped around it. I have bird netting on the top. There are no trees nearby where something could drop on to it. I do not remember seeing the hole in the netting yesterday, but I didn't look. I can spread my hand out in it, so it's not nearly big enough for a hawk and there wouldn't have been a way out for it. I suppose a small raccoon or oppossum could have gotten in through that, but not sure how they'd get out either. And she wasn't actually eaten, just slashed, no missing parts.
Any ideas? We've lived here for 6 years and I can't recall ever seeing a raccoon in the daytime and never an oppossum day or night, but I'm sure they are here. We do have at least one stray cat that comes over sometimes, but haven't seen it by the coop. We have two stray dogs I've seen, but they are Labs and I didn't see any depressions in the grass (it's pretty long right now) and there's no torn areas of the chicken wire.
