What Happened to our chicks (Disappearing)

[TheHalfWayCoop]

Our silkie broodies hatched four chicks out last week and were living with them in a sectioned off brooder in the coop. No one has been getting in, and no one has been getting out of it, but of the two chicks that were remaining (two were unwell and died earlier this week) the other two have completetly disappeared. I could find one lastnight when I went to check on them and this morning I can`t find the last remaining one. No peeping, no feathers, nothing. Just gone. The mothers don`t seem bothered at all and are out scratching around like nothing ever happened... I can`t find where they would be getting out and their coop is housed in the garage for the winter so they aren`t getting eaten by coons or anything. Could mice be taking them? I'm getting the sad idea that the mothers weren't sitting on them correctly and they got chilled and the broodies simply buried them under the shavings while scratching around. I'll have to take a better look under the litter when the girls are off to school. We have another broody on eggs and they'll be coming in to a brooder box immediately, I thought the broodies had this batch covered but clearly not and we don't want that to happen again

 

[Beekissed]

Rats?

 

[bigstack]

I would say snake... But its awefully cold!

Owl?

 

[TheHalfWayCoop]

I would go with rats, but as the coop is in our garage for the winter and we're in an urban area there aren't many rats, etc... I've seen mice in the garage on occasion, but it's pretty well sealed up for other vermin as it's attached to the house, and nowhere for owls or other birds to get in to them. That's what I can't understand, they're inside a sealed coop, inside a sealed garage, and some how two chicks (that had TWO mothers) one at a time have completely disappeared . I think they're probably buried under the shavings thanks to their mothers not really paying attention to them

. Maybe two mothers is not better than one

 

[Beekissed]

Or your chickens ate them...this is also a possibility. But anywhere a mouse can go, a rat can go also. A rat can be drawn in to your location by the sound of the chicks...this does not mean you live where rats live~they do go out to forage. There are more rats in urban areas than there are out in the country, I'd venture to guess.

 

[CrazyCatNChickenLady]

2 moms can be bad. They can both take 2 chicks then leave 2 to die(maybe what happened to the first 2??). I still would guess something got them though. mice and rats can squeeze through the smallest hole, and a snake was my first thought too.

 

[Beekissed]

The OP lives in Ontario..if there are snakes still crawling around in those temps, she has more to worry about than chicks! Snakes would still be in the warm place they found food....but it isn't likely to be snakes this time of year as they should all be denned up and hibernating.

 

[shanshan51]

I had the same thing happen. It was rats and squirrels mainly. I did eventually find the feathers and bones in another shed across the property

Don't know how long they had been picking off chicks one by one as I was hatching like crazy and getting no where.

 

[cmom]

Quote:
This was my thought too...

 

[jessicayarno]

I had that happen with a chick and the mom had buried it under the shavings and when i found it, it was almost dead and ended up dying a short while later.. I would dig in the shavings if I were you.. Just to make sure..