Woke up to a chicken missing, feathers everywhere. No clue what or how it got my chicken.

retoid

Chirping
12 Years
May 24, 2010
18
8
77
This spring I picked up 5 Ameraucana chicks and we built a brand new coop to put them in when they were large enough to be placed in it.
Below are some pictures showing the coop from several angles and how it's built to protect from predators. What you can't see is that there is wire mesh/fencing that goes down into the ground about 3 feet on all sides.
The chicken that I lost was the smallest one but she was still decent size. They are still pullets and in the stage of gaining their new hen voice from chick/pullet voice.
From what I can gather, something got into the coop as there are feather all over inside the coop, and ripped or pulled it through an area of the wire fence. How this was done, I have no idea. But in one of the pics below you can see where there is remnants of blood and where it looks to have happened.
The chickens tend to sleep on the ground still and in a corner, probably in the corner where the blood is. I am not sure how to get them to go up into the enclosed coop area to roost. Last time I had chickens they just did it automatically.

I would love to hear some input or thoughts on what you all think might've happened. I can't understand how anything got in, let alone pulled a chicken out. I triple checked all areas of the coop from top to bottom and there are no openings.
I live in the pacific Northwest area of Washington state. The only real predators I know that we have here in town are eagles, racoons and cats.
 

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I meant to post this under "Predators and Pests". Sorry about that.
 
I meant to post this under "Predators and Pests". Sorry about that.

You can report your own thread and put in the notes that you posted in the wrong section of the forums. The mods will move it for you.

You have chicken wire instead of hardware cloth. It's hard to get a sense of scale in those photos, but raccoons are notorious for being able to reach through chicken wire -- especially the 2" mesh -- to grab a chicken and pull it through the wire bit by bit. :(

You will have to put them into the enclosed part every night until they learn to go in on their own.

Replacing the chicken wire with 1/2" hardware cloth would make it more secure.
 
You can report your own thread and put in the notes that you posted in the wrong section of the forums. The mods will move it for you.

You have chicken wire instead of hardware cloth. It's hard to get a sense of scale in those photos, but raccoons are notorious for being able to reach through chicken wire -- especially the 2" mesh -- to grab a chicken and pull it through the wire bit by bit. :(

You will have to put them into the enclosed part every night until they learn to go in on their own.

Replacing the chicken wire with 1/2" hardware cloth would make it more secure.
Thank you for the reply and suggestions. I appreciate it. I think that is exactly what happened, a racoon must've put a hand through and held onto one of the chickens. What a way to go. :(
I also did start placing them up in the top section at night now and will continue to do so every night until they go up there on their own.
 

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