My chicken disappeared

[BlueO]

So today I was feeding some of the chickens and I noticed one was missing. This is not uncommon. Usually, they’ll be of doing something but this time it was missing all day. I fed them a few different times and this chicken is still missing. I searched around the property and found no explosion of feathers or dead chicken. Does anybody have any idea what could’ve happened?

Any help would be very appreciate! Thank you!

 

[sourland]

Any possibility that she may be setting on a hidden nest?

 

[BlueO]

Any possibility that she may be setting on a hidden nest?

I kind of doubt it. Pretty sure we have a flock of all hens and they haven’t started laying yet but we should be getting eggs soon.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Low possibility that a pullet close to POL could go broody, but unfortunately there's also the possibility she might have been hauled off by a predator. They don't always leave evidence at the scene.

 

[Karoo permaculture]

I kind of doubt it. Pretty sure we have a flock of all hens and they haven’t started laying yet but we should be getting eggs soon.

the absence of a rooster wont prevent them from going broody, maybe you think they arent laying eggs yet because they are hiding them

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agree it is unlikely a pullet that has not started laying would go broody but stranger things have happened.

She may have been attacked by a predator. I don't know where you are located so I don't know what your potential predators are, but some could carry off her body or hide what's left to come back and finish eating it later.

She may have been attacked by a predator and gone into hiding. She may come out a day or two later.

She may have gotten lost getting away from a predator and can't find her way back. Not sure what your countryside looks like or if that is even possible.

Did she join a neighbor's flock of chickens?

@BlueO I don't know anything about your circumstances. You occasionally see a story on here similar to yours where she did show up later but if you don't see her within the next day I'd assume she is gone.

 

[WaterfowlsPoultry]

Lost a hen and she was at the neighbor's house, I would probably go ask them.

I am on the same boat as @Ridgerunner she might have went into a forest or got lost after running from a predator I would say she probably got snatched but there are alot of times where a hen goes missing and returns a day or two later.

I don't believe that she was killed infront of all your chickens.
Chickens usually leave an explosion of feathers and If the predator killed her then all of the other chickens would be in shock or at least one of them.
I would recommend checking in corners, checking dark areas, checking behind big things. I have heard stories where a chicken was killed and hidden somewhere.

 

[McChooky]

Lost 2 hens the same way back in the spring. Gone without a trace so I suspect foxes. My dogs weren't out with the chickens that day, I had just let them out...

 

[BlueO]

the absence of a rooster wont prevent them from going broody, maybe you think they arent laying eggs yet because they are hiding them

OK, good to know. If they are laying eggs elsewhere, do you have any ideas how to find them? I have a pretty large property that they roam freely and it’s filled with scrub oak that they love playing in.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Can you lock them in your coop or coop + run for three days or so to see if you get eggs? If they are hiding a nest they will probably pace along the fence trying to get out but should eventually lay an egg.