Pullet missing after free ranging

[lmadeline146]

I’ve been letting the pullets in my flock free range for some time now. A few weeks ago a pullet named Butters vanished for a day but came back by dusk. Today, I was free ranging the flock as usual when I heard my rooster freaking out. When I went to check on them, I found my rooster with 5 hens in an area by the woods and put them back in the coop. After, a few of my others and the rest of the pullets except for 1 came out of the bushes and went into the coop.

I was missing 2 hens and a pullet named Charlie. Both hens came back around 8pm tonight and came out of the woods in the same spot I saw the rest of the flock last. Charlie never came back with them and when it got dark, I went out with a spotlight and checked the trees and bushes but didn’t see anything.

We live on 3 acres of land that are surrounded by woods on 2 sides and I’m guessing the pullet had to have gone into the woods during the commotion. I looked in the woods for an hour and only saw deer tracks and turkey feathers. What are the chances she shows up tomorrow? We have some hawks in the area but I didn’t see any feathers or sign of struggle.

 

[Tonyroo]

She might come back if she survives the night. Hope she found good cover.

It helps to know what type of predators venturing on your property to give you clues if a bird goes missing. You can track if you see signs of feathers, blood, footprints, and disturbed brush.

 

[lmadeline146]

She might come back if she survives the night. Hope she found good cover.

It helps to know what type of predators venturing on your property to give you clues if a bird goes missing. You can track if you see signs of feathers, blood, footprints, and disturbed brush.

Recently, I’ve only seen hawks. We had a coyote in the winter and a cockarel that disappeared a few months ago with feathers so maybe a fox around too. I only saw deer tracks in the mud and no strange prints or any other signs of predators

 

[Tonyroo]

Ground predators are sneaky, chickens are the ones to spot them before you can. I would suggest you look up your state list of animals to give you an idea of what's in your backyard. So you can prepare or understand what can happen.