Sad day on the Bailey farm - did they fly out??

[baileybrood]

Well, not off too a great start as a newbie chicken owner. I lost my wellington and orphington today. We fenced off a large portion of the backyard for them over the weekend using 4' fencing. Since they were only 8 weeks old, I couldn't imagine they would fly over it. But, I can't figure out how else they got onto the other side of the fence where my dog found them. This breaks my heart. I've locked up my remaining BR and the two little australorps (5 weeks old) until I get this figured out.

Could they really have gotten over a 4' fence at this age?? I couldn't find any area where they would have been dragged through and this happened during the day. I always put them up in their 12 x 12 run with coop at night. They so enjoyed being out but now I'm afraid to let them. Unfortunately, the Barred Rock was part of the original 3 birds and she's pretty lost. She hasn't accepted the little australorps fully yet.

Any chance a hawk grabbed them? I didn't see any feathers in the fenced area. I'm just trying to figure out what happened so I don't lose anymore

What do you all think?

 

[devora]

Yes, they are very mobile at that age.

What does it mean "where my dog found them"?

 

[greenckick]

To ease your fears and allow your remainig flock the joy of playing outside you may need to cover the fenced portion. We have a chicken play pen in the back yard for the girls to play during the day- we used rope and fruit tree net to create a cover to prevent jumping the fence and to keep predators out. It has worked great so far and it it much less expensive than "poultry neting". We used zip ties to attach it to the fence and hubby strung rope through the net and around the trees to create the canopy, which is high enough for us to walk under.

 

[baileybrood]

Devora, I believe my dog saw them and tried to "play" with them I just feel awful.

Greenckick, I thought maybe I could add another 4' of fence to the existing perimeter fence. That would be 8' high. Do you think that would work? It's a really large area to try to cover.

 

[devora]

Oh, so you found the birds. I was uncertain about that part.

I'm sorry you lost them. It can be horrible.

Don't get discouraged. The learning curve on raising birds is a straight line up.

 

[baileybrood]

Thanks, Devora. I read and read all I could about raising chickens but, some things I guess you just have to learn by experience (unfortunately). Let's hope for a fast rise to the top of that learning curve!

Oh, so you found the birds. I was uncertain about that part.

I'm sorry you lost them. It can be horrible.

Don't get discouraged. The learning curve on raising birds is a straight line up.

 

[Nicole01]

I'm so very sorry. Your better off covering the top of the fenced in area with chicken wire or netting. They can fly pretty high.

 

[chicks4fun]

Any chance a hawk grabbed them? I didn't see any feathers in the fenced area. I'm just trying to figure out what happened so I don't lose anymore

What do you all think?

If your dog had them I wouldn't think a hawk had anything to do with it. I have 6 two month old babies here and they fly into my pigs pen everyday. One even flew up to me and nearly made it to my shoulder---and I am not short.
So sorry for you loss. I know it's heartbreaking.

 

[Pele]

I'm sorry for your loss. Unfortunately 8 weeks is pretty much prime flying time for chickens. They are young and light enough to make full use of their wings, and havn't gotten into the laying groove, which limits their homebody instincts that come later. I agree that they absolutely should be in a covered run. Even if they couldn't fly out, you would have to worry about hawks.

On a side note, it's kind of unclear if you've found their bodies. If you havn't, it's entirely possible that they've escaped harm, and are in hiding. Keep an eye out, you might find them running along the fence and trying to rejoin the flock in the next few days.

 

[harriedhomemaker]

I had one of my pullets mysteriously disappear when she was 17 weeks old. No feathers, blood, or other sign of struggle. We had strung 50 lb test fishing line over the run to keep hawks away, but that was the only thing that I could think happened. Lo and behold, the very next day I witnessed four of my pullets out of their run! The walls of my run are 6 feet tall but the gate is only four feet high and they flew out over it.

I feel sick that I lost a chicken out of my supposedly secure run, but I learned from it and it won't happen again. We're covering the entire thing with heavy duty gamebird netting.

Sorry you had to go through this.