Runaway chook

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tahlia

tahlia

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I have a flock of 9 chickens and one of my English game hens who's wings are clipped still manages to escape their fenced off area. They are usually free range but after a close encounter with a fox they are kept in their area. Today I left the house at 8 after letting them out of their coop into their area and when I got home I couldn't find my little black hen anywhere I searched all around my property which is very big about 15 acres of dense bush land and I couldn't find her. My mum said she went out shopping and came back three hours after she took me to school and hadn't seen my chook when she went to check on the others and thought nothing of it. It's now 10 at night and raining and we have snakes and foxes and feral cats and I'm really worried about her. There was no feathers or anything and the other hens were relaxed and wandering around unlike the last time there was a fox so I'm not thinking that it was a fox. Could it have been another bird like an owl? I'm in the Australian bush so there are lots of other animals too.
Could my chook come back? I'm really worried and want to know if there is a chance she might be back in the morning
Thanks
 
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and good luck with all your poultry adventures!
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Sorry to hear that your chicken is missing. Does she have both wings clipped? If both are clipped she may have taught herself how to overcome that. Here's a little more info on that :

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-to-clip-trim-the-wings-of-your-chicken-to-prevent-flight


Its also possible she could be making a nest somewhere? Is she old enough to lay eggs?
 
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I am so sorry about your hen. They can and do return even days later. Keep us posted on your missing bird, we will all be keeping our fingers crossed that she makes it home safely.
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Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! Sorry about her hen, hope she does make her way back home. Being a game hen I would also wonder about her being broody and hiding in a nest somewhere.
 
I hope she finds her way home. As an added precaution, installing bird netting or another form of "topper" to the enclosed area they are kept in can be more effective than wing clipping at keeping your birds where you want them and avoid any future jail breaks over the top of the fence....it will also protect from overhead attacks by other birds who might see the enclosed birds as easy pickings.
 
My missing chook does lay eggs but a little while ago she just stopped I have two game hens and the other one is broody but she's in the nesting box
Let's hope when I come to let the others out in the morning she's there
 
She could be roosting somewhere like in the deep grass, woods, even around things lying in your yard.. If a predator didn't get her, she should return. If she can fly at all, she could be perched in a tree at night for safety. Good luck to you.
 

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