Our Chickens Ran Away: Can someone help us understand why?

[Hybridchucks]

perhaps they are sleeping in abush or tree (are their wings clipped?)

 

[SueT]

There are definitely coyotes in big cities! My daughter in Portland OR took a picture of one there. Her dog has tangled w a raccoon. Usually you don't see the predators, but that doesn't mean they aren't there!
Dogs are a possibility, and even humans...maybe someone stole your chickens.

 

[LadyVictorian]

Sadly it sounds like something made a meal of them, anything from dogs, foxes, raccoons, even opossums eat chickens, hawks,eagles, even large house cats that get into your yard can take a chicken. My grandma's cat could if he didn't weight 28lb's and have a mild stroke every time he moved at a pace faster than a walk. When he was thin he brought home a duck somehow and killed adult bunnies by the droves. If you live in the cities it's possible it was a stray dog or even a dog two houses down that did it. If that were the case they would grab them one by one and take them home and I am sure a neighbor wouldn't say anything for fear you would get angry and want action taken out on the dog. I have seen that before. One of my friends dog's had killed 4 of her neighbors ducks and brought them one by one to her back door.

 

[Hybridchucks]

There are definitely coyotes in big cities! My daughter in Portland OR took a picture of one there. Her dog has tangled w a raccoon. Usually you don't see the predators, but that doesn't mean they aren't there!
Dogs are a possibility, and even humans...maybe someone stole your chickens.

 

[jofanx]

Predators. I COULD NOT figure out what the heck was taking my ducks (fenced area) until one day, an owl swooped out of the forest behind my yard and took one before the sun went down. No wonder I couldn't find any "evidence." (No feathers, no blood, nothing.)

I say hawk or owl if no feathers or signs of a struggle.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Hi we had 3 layer chickens who ran away and we cannot figure out why!

They were kept in the coop without being let out for about a month before we decided to let them out bit by bit. After 3 or so weeks we felt safe enough to let them out for most of the day. Happily they wandered the garden, and at dusk they go back into the coop. But one day they just left.

We live next to a forest. Our garden is not properly fenced, the chicken can leave if they really wanted to, but they have never done so. They almost always stay within sight of the coop.

So far my only speculation has been, they preferred the forest more so they can hide from flying predators. But is that reason enough to leave your food and water and roost and shelter and all your eggs and never return?

They may have become predator chow. They also may be on the chicken equivalent of a walk around. if they are still among the living and they are not a brand of bird that can't thrive on their own they may still be alive. I have had hens who took off and lived on their own for two years on longer without my ever seeing them..

 

[LadyVictorian]

Predators. I COULD NOT figure out what the heck was taking my ducks (fenced area) until one day, an owl swooped out of the forest behind my yard and took one before the sun went down. No wonder I couldn't find any "evidence." (No feathers, no blood, nothing.)

I say hawk or owl if no feathers or signs of a struggle.

WOW, it took a duck? I guess some ducks can be small but I always figured ducks were too big to be taken by something like owls or hawks. Maybe an eagle but I never would have suspected an owl. I wonder if what got our ducks who decided to live on the pond was even a snapping turtle then or if owls took them. We had about 10 Rouen ducks loooong ago who just vanished one by one. I know a snapper took at least 1 because I saw it go underwater and never come back up but I felt for how often they were being eaten either we had a hungry snapper or something else got to them.