What could've done this?

[Chicken Frenzie]

Hi.
Something's been picking off my chickens... and I'm wondering just what?


My chickens free range all day, of course we make sure they don't wander, but we have never had a problem. They ALWAYS come back to the coop. All of a sudden, Tuesday, two of my three month old EE's didn't come back. The morning of the dissapearance, my chickens were FREAKING out, completely going wacko. Like they saw something. I checked the coop, but nothing was inside. No holes or anything in the run/coop. Nothing could've gotten in. The chickens have a window that we keep open, it has wire across it so nothing can get in. I think they might've seen something through the window.
Two days later, two of my three year old chickens dissapeared. That morning the chickens were freaking out aswell, before the two three year olds dissapeared.

What could be doing this? There were no noises, no feathers, nothing. Just gone. And this is during the daytime too.
Thanks everyone!


RIP Sophie, Rosie, Jinx, Sparky.

 

[cafarmgirl]

If they are free range then it could be almost anything. I don't know what predators you have where you live but with multiple pick off's like that in a few days I'd probably suspect fox or coyote first but the list of potential suspects could be long. Whatever it is will keep coming back until the food source is depleted so you may want to keep them in their coop/run for a while.

 

[Chicken Frenzie]

If they are free range then it could be almost anything. I don't know what predators you have where you live but with multiple pick off's like that in a few days I'd probably suspect fox or coyote first but the list of potential suspects could be long. Whatever it is will keep coming back until the food source is depleted so you may want to keep them in their coop/run for a while.

Yeah, we're keeping them in the run/coop for about a month. My dad's friends trap animals for his work so he thought he could maybe come over and help us. It's just what trap to set because we don't know what it is...

 

[xxmystxc]

Hi.
Something's been picking off my chickens... and I'm wondering just what?


My chickens free range all day, of course we make sure they don't wander, but we have never had a problem. They ALWAYS come back to the coop. All of a sudden, Tuesday, two of my three month old EE's didn't come back. The morning of the dissapearance, my chickens were FREAKING out, completely going wacko. Like they saw something. I checked the coop, but nothing was inside. No holes or anything in the run/coop. Nothing could've gotten in. The chickens have a window that we keep open, it has wire across it so nothing can get in. I think they might've seen something through the window.
Two days later, two of my three year old chickens dissapeared. That morning the chickens were freaking out aswell, before the two three year olds dissapeared.

What could be doing this? There were no noises, no feathers, nothing. Just gone. And this is during the daytime too.
Thanks everyone!


RIP Sophie, Rosie, Jinx, Sparky.

Hi, sorry you're going through this. That really stinks. Based on what you said, here are a few things it could be:

• birds of prey (like hawks or eagles): They hunt during the day and can grab chickens without leaving feathers or making noise. If your chickens were freaking out, they might’ve seen one flying nearby.​

• foxes or coyotes: These animals are sneaky and fast. Sometimes they take chickens and leave no trace. They could be watching and waiting until no one’s around.​

• bobcats: They’re quiet and good at climbing. They can come during the day and take chickens without leaving signs.​

• people: This isn’t super likely, but if someone walked by and saw your chickens, they could’ve taken them without making a mess.​

What you can do:​

You might want to try setting up a trail camera to see what’s out there. Also, maybe don’t let the chickens roam without watching them for a while. It’s really weird there were no feathers or sounds. Hope you find out what’s going on soon.


RIP Sophie, Rosie, Jinx, Sparky.