Missing chicks/stomach left behind

[animalhaven]

A hen and her 7 baby chicks were placed in a sturdy rabbit cage (a horizontal 3 hole hanging cage) on Thursday. On Friday, all were fine. Today, I checked them at noon and all 7 chicks are gone. The only thing left is the hen (she's fine) and the stomach of one chick - like you find when cats eat a rodent and bring you a present. Last week, while on vacation, a hen with a single week old chick had her chick disappear, and we thought it had just gotten out between through the mesh, but were surprized. We have full grown banty chicks in another cage - they're fine. We have another hen, a victim of a raccoon predator that has been caught and 'removed', in another cage of the 3-hole, and she has been fine for a week. There is no obvious blood and no feathers under or in the cage. We have been having trouble with raccoons, but this has me stumped. I'd have said snake, but it would not leave the stomach behind, and raccoons certainly couldn't get into the cage to leave the stomach behind, and would have left lots of blood pulling chicks through the cage, and wouldn't likely have gotten all 7. Any ideas????? We've had free range chickens for years, and this has been the worst year!!!!!

 

[Thechickster]

I'm so sorry to hear about your babies. We just lost our first girl last night. It was not pretty or fun to clean up. It was all feathers and legs. I can't figure out what got ours either.

 

[animalhaven]

Thanks. Even worse - we came home from a family event an hour ago, and something had tried to pull a teenage banty chick through the bars - no hope for this poor chick. HOWEVER, I set a live animal trap and have already caught a raccoon!! This one won't be relocated - if you know what I mean. I hope it is what got our chicks, as we'll be eliminating the problem, at least til the next coon moves in. Looks like this trap will be working doubletime!!

 

[theFox]

Keep setting that trap where there is one there are more.

 

[animalhaven]

We have now caught a raccoon a night and have eliminated four coons. So sad for the coons, but everyone in our area is having trouble. I just read in our newspaper about a lady in the city who captures city coons and transports them to a 'nice place out in the country.' Wonder if ......

Crazy to relocate a problem!!! Those coons don't know their new area or the other established coons, no wonder we country folk are all having problem coons!!!!