- Sep 9, 2011
- 18
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i am fairly new but enthusiastic about keeping a few hens and am looking for input from a more experianced keeper. i will ramble out the whole story so people can make an informed decision.
firstly we are in the uk. the disapearing hens are fully grown large fowl (barnvelders)
about this time last year we got 6 hens they roamed free over our land (about 10 acres) during the day and are locked in a shed (4x8) at night. this worked well untill two months ago when 1 hen every 2/3 days disappeared during the day. so i built a pen (40x60) that is 6 feet high 1 inch galv steel mesh and is buried 2 feet in the ground. then got some new hens to have a total of 6 again, letting them in the pen by day and in the shed at night and still they are disappearing at the rate of 1 every 2/3 days from inside the pen during the day. no trace of feathers or anything just 1 missing hen, the remaining hens seem very nervous. no signs of digging, no holes, no sign of anything.
further to this we have 4 dogs that wonder about the area as they please (whole boundry is dog proof) that i thought would discourage any predators, the dogs are all working dogs and i am 100% sure they are not responable.
so anybody have a clue what this could be?
my greatest thanks in advance for any help.
firstly we are in the uk. the disapearing hens are fully grown large fowl (barnvelders)
about this time last year we got 6 hens they roamed free over our land (about 10 acres) during the day and are locked in a shed (4x8) at night. this worked well untill two months ago when 1 hen every 2/3 days disappeared during the day. so i built a pen (40x60) that is 6 feet high 1 inch galv steel mesh and is buried 2 feet in the ground. then got some new hens to have a total of 6 again, letting them in the pen by day and in the shed at night and still they are disappearing at the rate of 1 every 2/3 days from inside the pen during the day. no trace of feathers or anything just 1 missing hen, the remaining hens seem very nervous. no signs of digging, no holes, no sign of anything.
further to this we have 4 dogs that wonder about the area as they please (whole boundry is dog proof) that i thought would discourage any predators, the dogs are all working dogs and i am 100% sure they are not responable.
so anybody have a clue what this could be?
my greatest thanks in advance for any help.
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