Rooster disappeared

[floridabelle]

This event prompted me to join the site. I'll try to make a long story short and honestly I have no idea if anyone will have an answer for me.

My husband and I are watching my mothers house, in punta gorda fl, she's has 6 hens and had a rooster. We usually lock the chickens in their coop at dusk, they all go in when they're ready to be locked up. Last night me and my husband ran to Walmart before dark but decided to go grab a bite to eat, so when we got home it was after dark. I noticed the white hen was sitting on the table in front of the house which was very odd. I scooped her up and took her to the coop where I locked it and counted the chickens as I always do. That's when I realised the rooster was gone. There were a lot of his feathers in the coop as well as the feeder being half broken like there had been a struggle. There was a 'trail' of feathers leading to an opening under one of the fences.

 

[centrarchid]

Behavior of hen suggests attack after or shortly before birds went to roost. Fox, coyote, bobcat or sometimes even dog will do as described. Urban, suburban or rural location makes no difference. Lock them up. Predator likely to attempt again.


Sorry for reason but good you dropped by.

 

[floridabelle]

Thank you!

99% sure it was not a dog. The house is on 5 acres and there is no one to the left (dense wooded 10 acres), no one behind, and the people to the right always have their gate closed. I didn't even think of foxes though.

 

[sumatra lover]

Oh my goodness! So sorry to hear! My husband says raccoons can come out as early as when it starts to get dim outside, maybe there was a raccoon on the loose! They are defiantly a predator we have in our area as well as coyotes bobcats and bears.

 

[centrarchid]

Nothing you describe rules anything out at this time. Keep eyes, ears and mind open until you or owner get handle on what is going on. If fox, repeat visits will usually be in a consistent time frame.

It is very likely entire flock will attempt to roost somewhere else tomorrow night. Alternate location may not be safer and they may not stay together, especially with lost of rooster. Roosters tend direct roost site selection.

 

[floridabelle]

Thank you for the response! I was thinking a raccoon also until I read that they normally just rip the head from the body and leave the body. Could they have just taken the whole body with? I, too, think coyotes or bobcats but I'm new at the predator stuff lol. We used to live on 20 acres and nothing ever touched our 50+ chickens but we did have geese turn up dead every now and then.

 

[floridabelle]

Centrarchid- all hens have been cooped since last night. Not only is this what my mother wants but this afternoon we saw quite a few hawks.

 

[sumatra lover]

That could be possible. I had a raccoon break in my barn and ate 3 of my chickens that were still little at the time. Raccoons can be mysterious but anything is possible with a wild animal. Again so sorry to hear about this!

 

[centrarchid]

Predators don't always read what they are supposed do making determination of culprit harder. Knowing the bad guy usually makes it easier to stop losses, especially if your budget (time or money) is limited. Strategy for dealing with different predators can also vary a lot.

 

[floridabelle]

Thank you, Sumatra.