My chickens are disappearing from their coop with no signs of a struggle and without the possibility of them being able to get out. help me plz!

[Crittak]

My chicks I hatched in an incubator which aren’t to big at all but still have feathered out have been disappearing..literally! Theirs no way they can get out of the coop yet they are gone and oddest part their is no blood no feathers nothing they was here and then slowly one by one over night they would just be gone. A week or so ago I did have to get rid of a possum for taking eggs and since all eggs have been accounted for and we also made sure to block all possible ways anything could get in or out but now this. A friend said an owl. I really jus don’t know.

 

[LaFleche]

Please, provide pictures of your setup so we can try to determine how they got out.
And ad some of the roof as well. Some predators like raccoons will just lift some roof shingles and grab from above.

 

[Crittak]

Ok so u think these 8-12 week old chicks escaped?

 

[Crittak]

I’ve just noticed that they tend to stick together. They even roost together. It’s just hard for me to see them getting out or even wanting to. But as soon as the sun is shining I will gladly put some photos up.

 

[Crittak]

see that’s where I think maybe a owl bc the way it’s set up it’s all open at the top except where they roost at theirs a roof over their roost.

 

[Crittak]

The smaller ones are the only ones that’s been disappearing too. They wouldn’t roost with my big stock chickens instead they was roosting in the open. And I’ve had game hens but lately since my younger ones have been disappearing the game hens won’t stay inside their coop. They will fly or believe it or not they climb and then fly over the chain link fence that goes around the entire coop.

 

[LaFleche]

So no netting above the run and chicks plus chickens roosting in the open or under a rooflike structure, but no secure coop that can and will be closed up for the night?

You could install game cameras to see who all is having their nightly snacks with your birds, but unless you provide a secure coop and properly covered run and close them in, it doesn't really matter who it is as the chickens will be eaten anyway.

 

[TOR]

Chain link fence, a weasel can go thru a chain link fence.

 

[GCrumb]

If an opossum can get in, a chick can certainly get out.

 

[bobbi-j]

Depending on the height of the fence, it could be just about anything if it’s open at the top and they don’t have a secure coop. Raccoons, mink, opossums and even fox can climb in and out of a setup like that. There are more, of course, but those are the first ones that come to mind.