Missing Hen

[Stelmyra]

Last night my 7 hens jump into their coop one by one. This morning I counted 6 leave the coop and the last not found. There was a 40 minute time span between them going into the coop and me locking it up. Otherwise they were roaming around their run all day (covered from top to bottom, no predator skirt). I counted their dsrk shadowy shapes when I locked them up and was sure I saw 7. Now of course I doubt myself.

There is no sign of a struggle. No blood, no feathers. The other hens seem totally fine. There are no dug holes around the perimeter of the run. Upon inspection there is a 4 inch gap in a high spot where the roof of the run meets the coop but the gap is like 5 feet off the ground (the wood warped away from the coop). I thought maybe a predator climbed and squeezed through there but I saw no fur or claw marks on the wood and no feathers (assuming it ran off and didn't consume the hen in the run... would there be leftovers?). What would quietly and quickly climb 5 feet and squeeze through a 4 inch gap, snatch a chicken and then leave without a trace? I can't see how the chicken could be carried away through that gap.

We have bobcats, raccoons, possums, owls and snakes around here. Oh and humans. I've never seen a fox.

My poor Fawkes

 

[KreetchaKeepa]

I hope your Fawkes just wanted a vacation and flew the coop temporarily.

 

[TOR]

My only guess would be a raccoon, said if the head fits the body will fit. raccoons climb
The way I read this the run is covered and chickens went into the coop and then you locked them up, so the bird had to be taken in the 40 minute span?

Is there anyway a predator can get into the coop once locked?

get a game camera and if a predator took the bird it will be back.

 

[MamaWolf7]

Raccoons and bobcats can fit through a 4" hole. Possums and snakes can fit through an even smaller hole. Not too sure an owl would do that, but the other 4 are all excellent climbers. Any if those predators could get through that opening. I use electric fencing to keep foxes and bears out of my coop. It could help you keep out the mammals.

Once a chicken has roosted for the night they are extremely docile and wouldn't put up much of a fight. That is why people do vent inspections after they have gone to bed. It would be easy for a predator to kill and take one without leaving feathers behind.

All that being said, like the fox (a neighbour lost 66/120 chickens in a single fox attack), both raccoons and bobcats tend to kill the entire flock with the intention of returning for more food the next day.

Possums are lazy hunters and would kill just one bird; however, they would most likely just sit there to eat it and would most likely only eat the crop and abdomen.

Owls prefer an aerial attack which is why I doubt it is the culprit.

By process of elimination I would guess snake. Since they will eat a chicken alive it would certainly explain the lack of feathers.

As for the remaining flock not seeming to mind, i have put more than one old hen out of her misery right in the chicken run. Once the funky chicken dance is over and the body removed, the flock doesn't seem to have a care in the world.

If my suspicions of a snake being the culprit are correct, you have a couple days while it digests before it will return for a second meal.

Check out this article on how to keep snaked out of the coop. It offers some great advice!

https://www.muranochickenfarm.com/2018/09/keep-snakes-out-of-chicken-coop.html

 

[Stelmyra]

Thank you all for your replies. We had a camera but it got too dark for it to catch anything so we left a nearby light on after the first attack. Yes there was a second attack from a different spot. The camera caught fast shadows slinking and darting around inside and outside of the run and I heard coyotes the next night. They only took one bird though. Is that consistent with coyote behavior? Do any of the other predators hunt together? We've since redone the run instead of trying to patch up the old one. Thank you all again for taking the time to share your insight.

 

[MamaWolf7]

Yes, it absolutely could be a coyote. Coyotes can fit through a gap just 3-4" in size. They hunt alone, in pairs or as a pack. They take their food elsewhere to eat it and it is not uncommon for them to take just one bird. When they have been preying on a chicken coop they can often be heard howling nearby. Since coyotes communicate with one another through their scat, if you search your property thoroughly, you will most likely find their scat around somewhere. It looks similar to a dog or cat's feces but typically has hair and bones in it.

In rural/remote settings, coyotes try to avoid human activity, so a motion activated light can be very helpful in deterring them. Unfortunately, they are extremely intelligent and adaptive animals who have easily learned to adapt to urban life. A motion activated light will not deter coyotes who have become habituated to urban life.

Other common chicken predators found throughout North America but often forgotten about as they are elusive in nature are from the weasel family (including mink, marten, fischer...). They are most definitely not your culprit as they would leave headless chickens strewn around the coop, but are worth mentioning.

 

[Stelmyra]

Yes, it absolutely could be a coyote. Coyotes can fit through a gap just 3-4" in size. They hunt alone, in pairs or as a pack. They take their food elsewhere to eat it and it is not uncommon for them to take just one bird. When they have been preying on a chicken coop they can often be heard howling nearby. Since coyotes communicate with one another through their scat, if you search your property thoroughly, you will most likely find their scat around somewhere. It looks similar to a dog or cat's feces but typically has hair and bones in it.

In rural/remote settings, coyotes try to avoid human activity, so a motion activated light can be very helpful in deterring them. Unfortunately, they are extremely intelligent and adaptive animals who have easily learned to adapt to urban life. A motion activated light will not deter coyotes who have become habituated to urban life.

Other common chicken predators found throughout North America but often forgotten about as they are elusive in nature are from the weasel family (including mink, marten, fischer...). They are most definitely not your culprit as they would leave headless chickens strewn around the coop, but are worth mentioning.

Thank you so much for taking the time to inform me about coyotes. I will definitely keep an eye out for their scat and do some more research about them. Thanks again!