Sad day

[ana2707]

I went out this morning to find one of my chickens missing. What kind of predator can take a chicken without any evidence left behind AND out of a fully enclosed coop and run. Makes no sense. No feathers anywhere, no blood....

 

[BBQJOE]

I went out this morning to find one of my chickens missing. What kind of predator can take a chicken without any evidence left behind AND out of a fully enclosed coop and run. Makes no sense. No feathers anywhere, no blood....

I don't know, but with all the threads lately that are similar to yours, I'm beginning to think aliens, or hungry people.

 

[aart]

It's usually because the fully enclosed coop and run is not as secure as one thinks.

How old was bird and pics of your coop and run would help us help you.

 

[Folly's place]

A totally safe coop is what you need, and a missing bird shows that upgrades are needed. A bear could demolish my coop, but nothing much else will get in! We all start with "it will be fine" setups, and learn the hard way that things need to be improved. It's hard on the chickens, but that seems to be how it goes. Mary

 

[ana2707]

It's usually because the[COLOR=333333] fully enclosed coop and run is not as secure as one thinks.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=333333]How old was bird and pics of your coop and run would help us help you.[/COLOR]

.

chicken was about 8 weeks old.

 

[BBQJOE]

Seriously, if your coop is solid and tight, I still wouldn't rule out humans.

 

[Lelilamom]

Another chicken? We had our chickens kill at least one if not two chicks that our broody Buff wasn't minding very well. They left ZERO evidence. The only reason we figure out it was the other chickens was because we caught them do it to four more before they could devour them.

 

[ana2707]

Another chicken?  We had our chickens kill at least one if not two chicks that our broody Buff wasn't minding very well.  They left ZERO evidence.  The only reason we figure out it was the other chickens was because we caught them do it to four more before they could devour them.

They didn't even leave any blood?

 

[Ringtailtwister]

Sorry to hear about your loses. I've had the same problem so I started setting live traps. I've caught coons, possums, and one skunk. So it sounds like you need to put out some traps.
Hope this is some help.

 

[Sonya9]

Seriously, if your coop is solid and tight, I still wouldn't rule out humans.

Hungry humans wouldn't steal an 8 week old chick, heck if there weren't any adults in the coop they would have to steal a bunch of chicks for one meal.

Op I would guess you have a hole/weak spot in the coop itself. If a predator had to drag the body through the chicken run there would probably be evidence.

Do you have snakes there? 8 weeks old may be a bit too large for a snake but maybe not, snakes can get in even the tiniest of openings (though they may not always be able to get out after a meal, which is how I caught and relocated a rat snake that was eating chicks last year). Plus snakes don't leave blood or feathers behind.