Predator took all 5 hens last night! I feel horrible!

[countryladyNH]

Hi Everyone, thank you to everyone at this forum as you have all been so helpful! Every night I have a routine which includes checking on my 5 hens and closing their hutch door. I have done this for 5 years. Last night I am assuming I forgot as I noted the main door open this AM. All of my chickens are gone. There are no bodies, bones, etc. - just piles of feathers. I live in town with 2 sides of 8 foot fence and 2 sides of 4 foot fence. Hawks have been my daytime issues in the past as I lost one of my birds two years ago to a hawk in the daylight. I feel horribly guilty. Does anyone know what predator, in a southeastern PA town would just leave feathers overnight, be able to kill 5 birds, and leave nothing more? There are no gaps in the fence bottom and I have 3 dogs who use my yard to run and play....thank you for any information. I truly appreciate it!

So sorry for your loss. We have lost a chicken in daylight, and one time a fox was chasing one across our yard in broad daylight and I saw it and took after him screaming blue murder. I had no shovel or any weapon but I was so angry and scared. He ran off, but he had been literally an inch from grabbing our Hannah.

We do have one more experience and it might give you some hope.

One summer day, I saw a pile of feathers in the yard (the girls were out for a free range), and one of our hens was missing. I followed a trail of a few feathers into brush but then there was nothing. We were both just gutted, and I was crying. We felt Clementine was gone, eaten by something.
THREE HOURS LATER, my husband was in the driveway doing something and he happened to look up when he noticed a car slowing down. THERE WAS OUR CLEMENTINE across the road by our neighbors mailbox, trying to get home!! NEVER did any of our hens cross the road before. We figured that a hawk probably had come down, grabbed her by the tail feathers and tried to make off with her.
Little Clemmie evidently scrambled into the underbrush, eventually making her way across the road to some perceived safety. She was gone all that time. We are sure she was petrified and laying low. So glad hubby looked up and saw her! He went the middle of the road with arms up to stop any car, and brought her back home! WHAT A HAPPY ENDING~
It may be that one or more of your girls ran in terror, and you may yet find them. Sending good thoughts your way.

 

[beakman53]

Maybe raccoons they are good fence climbers. Live traps with marshmallows will catch them easily. Here in OH you cannot move and release so check if you live trap them. If you can't get traps try marshmallows on pc of cardboard in muddy area and you will see their characteristic tracks.

 

[Ladies of the Forest]

First of all, my heart is hurting a little bit for you. I’ve been where you are. I had my coop professionally constructed, with Instructions that every bit, all 360° of my pen and coop, be covered with hardware cloth. Unfortunately, we never noticed that they neglected to fence in the vents in the roof, until my husband came in from getting the paper one morning, and said “I hate to tell you this, honey, but there is a trail of black feathers from the coop off into the forest.“ My dearest, gentlest, most excited to see me every day and running to greet me whenever I came home, black sex link hen was gone. I sobbed for days, was angry with the construction crew and myself. It wasn’t easy. The thing that brought me my first source of comfort was knowing that my precious hen was keeping another family alive. Weasel was my only suspect, as the vents were about 9 feet off the ground and only about 2 inches wide, leaving me to wonder how in the world he squeezed my beautiful big black hen out. Any rate, your five birds helped some family in the wild to survive. Let that bring you comfort, and good luck with your next flock of chickens. Set a daily alarm for going out to close the coop. We’re all human, life happens, and we forget some things, even when they are very important. You were a good chicken mama for a very long time, let that bring you comfort. They had a good life with you. They’re keeping other wildlife alive now.

 

[JetDoc750]

A week ago today, my wife & I left home on a 3 day trip. Our sons, both in college were around as tenders of the flock of 9 hens and 4 ducks. Saturday, Sam texted us to say he could only find 5 of the hens and the ducks, possibly a paw print in the yard (the birds free range our fenced back yard during the day). Our suspicion was coyote since there are a lot of them here around the Goddard area. On Monday, Sam texted me about half past noon "coyote confirmed" he could see it in the yard munching on 1 of the 5 remaining hens and 3 others dead. We later found the last hen hiding in the ducks section of the coop with the ducks as all had been raised together. Two days later, the coyote came back for her. This makes the 3 batch of hens we have lost to predators and honestly, we are debating getting any more. It is heartbreaking! I truly feel and am sorry for your loss!

 

[gwenniet]

so sorry for your loss! it has sickened me when i walk out and realize i have forgotten to shut up the chickens! I have had mink take a chicken, do you live near water? but a larger animal seems more likely since all 5 chickens are gone.

 

[albngore]

Hi Everyone, thank you to everyone at this forum as you have all been so helpful! Every night I have a routine which includes checking on my 5 hens and closing their hutch door. I have done this for 5 years. Last night I am assuming I forgot as I noted the main door open this AM. All of my chickens are gone. There are no bodies, bones, etc. - just piles of feathers. I live in town with 2 sides of 8 foot fence and 2 sides of 4 foot fence. Hawks have been my daytime issues in the past as I lost one of my birds two years ago to a hawk in the daylight. I feel horribly guilty. Does anyone know what predator, in a southeastern PA town would just leave feathers overnight, be able to kill 5 birds, and leave nothing more? There are no gaps in the fence bottom and I have 3 dogs who use my yard to run and play....thank you for any information. I truly appreciate it!

There is an easy, single solution--supposing you have electricity within your coop. An electrically operated chicken-size door solved my "forgetting to close the door" issue. The unit simply screws between a stud wall. A timer you set determines when the door opens and closes. The timer that comes with the unit is actually too cheap, so I bought a Woods brand digital timer (I think from Amazon) that works perfectly.

This door solution has worked flawlessly for me for years. I only reset timer open/close times according to seasonal daylight changes.

If you install one of these things, you will never be lying in bed only to awaken and remember that you forgot to close up the chickens.

 

[Chesadream]

Hi Everyone, thank you to everyone at this forum as you have all been so helpful! Every night I have a routine which includes checking on my 5 hens and closing their hutch door. I have done this for 5 years. Last night I am assuming I forgot as I noted the main door open this AM. All of my chickens are gone. There are no bodies, bones, etc. - just piles of feathers. I live in town with 2 sides of 8 foot fence and 2 sides of 4 foot fence. Hawks have been my daytime issues in the past as I lost one of my birds two years ago to a hawk in the daylight. I feel horribly guilty. Does anyone know what predator, in a southeastern PA town would just leave feathers overnight, be able to kill 5 birds, and leave nothing more? There are no gaps in the fence bottom and I have 3 dogs who use my yard to run and play....thank you for any information. I truly appreciate it!

Possums raccoons will steal bodies leave only feathers. And climb fences
Get the largest rooster you can. He should try to protect his flock once he learns what it is to him

 

[twendt]

Maybe raccoons they are good fence climbers. Live traps with marshmallows will catch them easily. Here in OH you cannot move and release so check if you live trap them. If you can't get traps try marshmallows on pc of cardboard in muddy area and you will see their characteristic tracks.

All "masked bandits" are trapped and shot on my property!

 

[1 Farm Girl]

Hi Everyone, thank you to everyone at this forum as you have all been so helpful! Every night I have a routine which includes checking on my 5 hens and closing their hutch door. I have done this for 5 years. Last night I am assuming I forgot as I noted the main door open this AM. All of my chickens are gone. There are no bodies, bones, etc. - just piles of feathers. I live in town with 2 sides of 8 foot fence and 2 sides of 4 foot fence. Hawks have been my daytime issues in the past as I lost one of my birds two years ago to a hawk in the daylight. I feel horribly guilty. Does anyone know what predator, in a southeastern PA town would just leave feathers overnight, be able to kill 5 birds, and leave nothing more? There are no gaps in the fence bottom and I have 3 dogs who use my yard to run and play....thank you for any information. I truly appreciate it!

I lost 8 hens overnight, yes nothing but feathers. They were coyotes & came back to try to get more in the am when I discovered the hens missing. It is truly devastating! I accidentally left my coop door ajar and thought it was shut it even has a Baldwin key/lock on it, what happen it just did not click shut I really would advise now to put a lock on your door for the future. Once I did that I locked it everyday and never had a problem. Coyotes are really smart they would even come up to my coop door and slam against it to open the door and freak out my girls. I’m sorry for you...

 

[chickencoop57]

So sorry for your loss, Chloemae! Yeah, I sometimes forget to shut my trap door to the inclosed coop, and when I get up in morn and go to open it and see it opened already, I'm shocked. Thank goodness I've been fortunate no hen's have been killed.