Missing Chicken

[alektorophobia]

Well, title pretty much says it all. Things were going so well. I got a second set to fix the chicken math, they all integrated well. And then tonight, I went out to shut the coop door and realized I was missing one - my favorite one. Any chance she'll turn back up?

 

[Fluffy_Moth_With_Silkies]

It depends on where you live. Are you in a forested area? An open one?

 

[SuperMurshy]

Yes there's definitely a chance, I've had chickens spend the night outdoors before and show back up in the morning. Sometimes they'll roost in a tree, scared hiding somewhere from a predator, or just didn't make it back before dark, or kicked out by other flock members. Unfortunately too there's a chance it was taken, have yoi had predators problems where you are?

 

[Fluffy_Moth_With_Silkies]

Unfortunately too there's a chance it was taken, have yoi had predators problems where you are?

Yes. I lost one recently to a raccoon, and they aren't even free range. But there's always a chance she's sleeping in a tree to stay safe. Chickens that wander off always stay close to the coop. If she's still with us, she should come back.

 

[jpalmatier83]

Any patches of feathers around? Raccoons will typically leave some evidence.

Hawks? They’ll carry off birds without a trace.

Coworkers have had young birds run off by doge/cats/predators and turn up 2-3 days later.

If they’re printed on a coop, there’s always hope.

 

[alektorophobia]

@Silkies4Days @SuperMurshy @jpalmatier83 - gonna try to respond to all at once (and your replies definitely made me realize I forgot all sorts of relevant details last night). Thank you all for your reassurance, though. I'm hoping she reappears today.

• I'm in the Midwest, so it's corn walls on both sides of the property; we've got a handful of trees and a sort of grown up area that we call the chicken jungle near their coop, so they've got areas where they can hide/disappear
• There are large birds that we'll sometimes see overhead, but never on the property because we have dogs/cats. My fear is that one did get bold, though.
• No feathers. I checked all around the yard and at the edges of both fields last night.
• I don't think that it was an instance of flock issues. There was one from the new batch that I brought home that that did happen with while I was out of town, but in that case there were definitely signs, whereas this hen is one of my original babies. She usually at least stays close with the other two barred rocks and is extremely sociable.

I know losing chickens is basically guaranteed, especially with free range - I'd just gotten so lucky so far and hoped that since the big animals tend to keep other things out of the yard, they'd be safe. And as terrible as it maybe sounds, I especially hate that it's this chicken. She would literally sprint across the yard when I went out

 

[Fluffy_Moth_With_Silkies]

• I'm in the Midwest, so it's corn walls on both sides of the property; we've got a handful of trees and a sort of grown up area that we call the chicken jungle near their coop, so they've got areas where they can hide/disappear

So if there's even a little bit of an area where they'll hide, free range chickens will. It might take a few days though, as she might be hiding from something. I hope you find her though! Do you have any favorite pictures of her?

 

[alektorophobia]

So if there's even a little bit of an area where they'll hide, free range chickens will. It might take a few days though, as she might be hiding from something. I hope you find her though! Do you have any favorite pictures of her?

I checked all of the easily checked places, but there are so many places she could hide. And despite the bright red comb, she basically disappears in any sort of tall grass.

Most of what I have are older or videos (or full of other chickens) because I keep making the mistake of going outside without my phone, but I found one pretty recent one.

 

[Ponyiqandhens2]

I have had them dissapear, miss a head count and then show up.i have several dissapear last night..and no predators were out, right before time to roost we started getting hail and groundstrike lightening in my pasture and across the street in cow pasture... I saw her with her buddies when I ran out to grab the d,,, polish who was literally paralyzed with fear as the horses bolted for the run in sheds..her buddies were under shelter she didnt react until I got her under the porch at that point I did a head count had 2 girls I had seen in the rock pile right when it started were missing..I leave for work at 430 so cant do another count until later..it stormed a good part of the night ..I'm pretty sure she got scared and hid with her buddy.

I had a bantam hen I sold 4 months ago that lived about a mile away show up at my house last week..I called the people they said keep her ok..

I checked all of the easily checked places, but there are so many places she could hide. And despite the bright red comb, she basically disappears in any sort of tall grass.

Most of what I have are older or videos (or full of other chickens) because I keep making the mistake of going outside without my phone, but I found one pretty recent one.