I took the family out for the first time in two years, and came home to an absolute slaughter. 12 of my 16 hens plus my rooster and 5 out of 6 silkie chicks are missing their heads. One chicken is just gone. I've lost the occasional bird to predation over the years, but never a total flock devastation like this. I know exactly how it happened, which makes none of it easier. Part of my very large currently interconnected pen system lost its roof to a falling branch last week when a storm blew through, and since we don't have an issue with ground predators (9/10 there's dogs around the chickens 24hrs a day), mainly aerial when the girls were free ranging, I thought I had time to get around to fixing it. Turns out I was wrong. Because we left during the day, and the dogs ended up in the garage because of a bit of rain, and no one was around to close up the coop, I guess it was the perfect opportunity. Don't get comfortable, ever! All I have left are a silkie cockerel chick, a black silkie hen and two production reds. My EEs &OEs, hamburgs, cochins, FBCMs... gone. 
