So this happened

[New Mama Chicky]

Is this because I left them out last night is 59 degree weather did they trample her ? I've lost a Chicky

 

[iwltfum]

Hard to say. Looks like it was either pecked or trampled. Sometimes they get trampled because of crowding or not enough linear feeder space.

 

[keesmom]

They're fully feathered, so 59 is not too cold. What kind of enclosure were they in? Looks like a predator tried to get hold of him/her.

 

[New Mama Chicky]

They're fully feathered, so 59 is not too cold. What kind of enclosure were they in? Looks like a predator tried to get hold of him/her.

They are in a chicken tractor my husband built for the meat birds and our laying hens have a coop my husband built

 

[keesmom]

Is that chicken wire around the exterior? I'm going to guess a raccoon reached through to grab one.

 

[New Mama Chicky]

Is that chicken wire around the exterior? I'm going to guess a raccoon reached through to grab one.

Yes it is chicken wire , thank you I'm starting to think something got to them because my neighbors dogs were barking a lot last night. Any suggestions on chicken security , like I said before my family and I are newbies to the chicken world so advice is welcome. My husband is good at building stuff so he can reinforce the chicken tractor and the coop . Also hopefully our local home Depot will be restocked now my husband had to drive 45 mins to the next town just to get the chicken wire to make the coops in the pic because our local places were sold out of it.

 

[Punkybrewster]

If it was a raccoon or another predator, it will be back now that it knows they are there.

Get some hardware cloth around it. Anything can reach in and grab a bird while they sleep. Put skirting of hardware cloth around the bottom too.

 

[orloffer]

Chicken wire is generally not recommended for coops/runs, because it is not predator proof. Metal hardware cloth is much more protective.

 

[keesmom]

Hardware cloth may help, and if at all possible an electric fence. They are far too exposed where they are.

 

[Ruthster55]

Sad to hear this.

My first predator shock in chicken-keeping was a raccoon attack that killed 5 mostly laying hens on a very hot late June night back around 2011.

I ran out the next day in the sweltering heat to the home improvement center and bought a bunch of hardware cloth, staples, and a staple gun and started installing it. I knew the raccoon(s) would be back.

Dealing with predators is a constant battle. Secure housing is really the only way to ensure that chicken math isn’t usually subtraction.