About a month ago my sweet Bernedette went missing...no sign of anything just gone....I thought maybe she was off brooding in hiding she would be my smartest chicken and the only one to think of it....well no signs of her yet. And yesturday I went to TSC to pick up some chicks for my broody silkie and when I returned a small pile of of my most sweestest lil easter egger girl's ( she just started laying a few weeks ago) feathers , what in the world took my babies, both times it has been a dark colored girl and the only ones that would let me pack them around while I loved on em' . My chooks love to free range and I don't want to keep them locked up when it is nice out, I feel terrrible... usually if they are out and I need to run an errand I will lure them back into the run with treats before I leave.... so I was not going to be gone long and figured they would be ok....and this is what happens , never again . There was no blood just one pile of feathers. We have hawks around, but some say they can't take off with a chicken..........but I was wondering I have heard an owl ever now and then not all the time at night around here in the woods behind our home. It was daylight when they were taken. My Sophie girl even takes her new chicks out to free range and whatever it was didn't even bother a chick . Anybody else have this happen and did you find out what is was?
Sorry about your chickies! From what I have been reading, when your free range your chickens they are in constant danger from predators..on the ground and from above. If the hawk couldn't lift your bird, it could have just stayed on the ground to finish the job. Sorry again!
Usually a pile of feathers means a dog...especially during the day. One got my sweet game roo last week, came in when the wind blew my privacy gate open and carried him out leaving only feathers. :-( So sorry for your loss. You can hide and keep an eye open to see what is coming in and killing your chickens, or put them away when you leave. I would want to know....for sure.
Sorry for your loss. I have a client and is loosing chickens(roos) to a fox. She is having to keep everyone up and her hubby is making her a big run.
If your chickens want to be out on a nice day, then so do other predators. I would say either a dog or a hawk. If the hawk is big enough, they will carry off a full grown chicken. Or at least try to carry it to a safe place so they can eat it.
