Missing chicks

[BrumBee]

I was out for the day with my parents and I came home at lunch to find two of my chicken chicks are missing and two of my guinea fowl chicks are also gone. I thought they may of been taken by a fox as I found my 8 week old light Sussex's feathers but there is no blood anywhere, they are the feathers in the front of the chicken and under the wings and also the light Sussex chick and the other missing chick (a brown leghorn) have been fighting a lot recently for 'flock leader' and I thought that may of been the reason for the feathers (she looses a lot of them when she fights) because I cannot find any other feathers but I could be wrong. I live on 20 acres and I have searched everywhere and cannot find them, bodies or feathers. Do you think they may have been spooked by something and ran away?

Also this may seem like a weird question but I get really attached to my chickens, if I cant find them or I find them not alive what's a good way to basically get over it? I'm really sensitive when it comes to animal deaths so I have a hard time coping.

Thanks for your understanding- BrumBee

 

[Howlet]

im sorry for your loss... it must be hard losing a chick....

What time did it happen? and are they in a coop with a run or free range?

 

[WildReds]

I lost one Americana recently and I saw a fox that night on my 2 acres again like u searched everywhere and found no feathers as u usually would so I assumed it carried the chick off. I know it's hard and I sympathize but its a risk of the true free range. As soon as the rain stops were building a large enclosed area and covered for them to eat in.

 

[RoosterDon]

I have a fort in the woods that I turned into a coop. The trees keep hawks from swooping in. (When I first started this we had our coop in the open area of our yard and when free ranging a hawk swooped in and hauled off our full grown hen). So we have a fenced in garden where we keep chicks till they get big enough to be integrated into the big house. We had a hen hatch an egg and moved her and the chick into our protected garden. One day the chick was - poof - gone. I know it was a hawk or owl. I was CRUSHED. I no I put cheap fencing over the top of our garden and fully chicken wired the garden fence.

I have a small hatch door that I open in the morning and close at night. During the day our chickens free range in their large fenced in area, and tree covered. Well I was feeling comfortable about security and started not closing the little trap door. One night a small predator got in and drug out a full grown chicken and was killing it. The ruccus from the other chickens woke me up and the predator left but I lost my americauna. Now I religiously lock the trap door at night.

After putting up all the fencing, our neighbors weiner dog dug under the fence and mauled 4 of our chickens. So, I predator proofed the entire fence with ground wire.

I have learned in this first year of raising chickens that you do the best you can, then you lose one, then you patch that hole. Eventually you hopefully patch most holes that you never knew you had in your security.

But like the lady at the feed store said, you either free range or you don't. And her analogy was that she would rather live a short life of freedom then to live a long life in a small confined space. And I agree, but I am still taking ongoing measures to stop the entry points of predators.