A upsetting and strange night!

[Moony Moon]

Got home early from work today, opened the pen door and treated the girl to some sweetcorn and a bit of ordinary corn. Went in to finish the tiling in my bathroom, only an hour.
Came back out and one of my girls has gone! It was about 6.15pm, i have an enclosed garden and all of the other 7 girls were happily perched on the roosting bars as normal.
Very strange, my garden fences are minimum 6 foot and i live by a busy main road so i wouldn't expect a fox to be out during rush hour. Had a hunt round and there are no feathers, or strange looking marks on the ground. Her wings are clipped also as i haven't even had her two weeks!

Just been back out and stood on a chair and looked over both neighbour gardens, no markings at all. One side are students and the other is an old boy....all fresh snow on both side!

Are there are birds that could take a chicken? Bearing in mind that i live in Northampton in a pretty well built up area.

A rubbish night all in all

[MaureenHall]

Is there a hedge that she might have hidden inside? One of mine did that not long after I'd got them and I didn't find her till nearly 10pm. It had been raining too so crawling around in mud, sludge and chicken poo on my hands and knees, trying to balance a torch just wasn't my idea of fun! I was so pleased to have found her though. It might be worthwhile going out again to do another search, though she probably won't be making any noises or moving at all cuz she'll be asleep

[digthatchick]

My money is on a fox - if so I am very sorry for you, believe me I know how you must feel. ( I lost all six of mine a few weeks ago in a fox attack in broad daylight)

[Moony Moon]

Nope no hedges or anything in my garden.........i am in the process of renovating the whole house, all i have is a garden with coop and the run at the moment.
I thought it may be a fox but i would've thought there'd be some feathers or sign of a struggle maybe?

[tamsin]

A 6' fence is no problem to a fox and I've known them enter gardens in broad daylight with people about. Odd there is no tracks though.

I'd be very cautious for the next few days as if it was a fox it may be back.

[MaureenHall]

Any news Moony?

[Moony Moon]

Hi Maureen, no news unfortunately.

Let the girls out this morning before i went to work, had another scout round and there is nothing at all.

I am guessing i will find something when this snow has all gone.

[araminta]

hi moony, really sorry to hear about your lost girl - we are between Brackley and Banbury, so not too far from you - I've noticed loads of big hawk like birds around here so am wondering if it could be that - wouldn't a fox have killed more of the others? We have ours on an allotment plot with a tall fence around it, but are right next to open fields, so have tried to put lots of branches, old Christmas trees etc etc to give them cover from any air strikes. It's a constant worry though isnt it?

[frias]

Sorry to hear you have lost a hen. The not knowing is the worse thing. I posted recently about a buzzard my neighbour had seen overhead. Well I still haven't seen it but my husband says he saw it fly very low over my girls and they froze like statues. I was assured on here that a buzzard could take chicks or small hens but unlikely to take a large hen. However it could be some other bird of prey and might even be a large raptor from a private collection. You have something similar in your area. My son has foxes in his garden all the time. They are not frightened of people and although he and his dog chase them off every day they come back the next. Come right up to the patio doors and look into the lounge, day or night. If it was a fox and was disturbed it might have only had time to take one. You would expect to see some tracks in the snow though. I really hope you find her.

[vicky]

Oh dear, doesn't sound like you will see her again - so sorry. Could you stretch a net over the run for now for a bit more protection? Maybe assume it was a fox and do a few other things to keep the rest safe?

[Hilary B]

Most birds of prey are cautious about landing where taking off might be difficult (eg highish fences arund a smallish plot), and on the whole, if they take something with feathers, there are a few shed feathers in the area. A buzzard is about the biggest likely to be about (Red Kites don't count, they are almost exclusively scavengers, but will hunt big insects...), and they really don't like having to take off too steeply. It is odd that the others didn't make a fuss, unless something came along when she was the only one not yet inside for the night. Alternatively, she has found a hidey-hole (possibly a fatal one).

[CoraxAurata]

Got home early from work today, opened the pen door and treated the girl to some sweetcorn and a bit of ordinary corn. Went in to finish the tiling in my bathroom, only an hour.
Came back out and one of my girls has gone! It was about 6.15pm, i have an enclosed garden and all of the other 7 girls were happily perched on the roosting bars as normal.
Very strange, my garden fences are minimum 6 foot and i live by a busy main road so i wouldn't expect a fox to be out during rush hour. Had a hunt round and there are no feathers, or strange looking marks on the ground. Her wings are clipped also as i haven't even had her two weeks!

Just been back out and stood on a chair and looked over both neighbour gardens, no markings at all. One side are students and the other is an old boy....all fresh snow on both side!

Are there are birds that could take a chicken? Bearing in mind that i live in Northampton in a pretty well built up area.

A rubbish night all in all

Sorry to hear about your missing chook, Did you clip her wings recently? And you did only do 1 wing? .... if either is no check with your neighbours gardens..

[Birdie Wife]

That's very strange - I'd have thought if a predator had taken her that the other hens would be freaked out. Maybe she's gone walkabout - hope you do find her

[Moony Moon]

Yeah only one wing was clipped and that was only about 10 days ago.....have only had her that long, she is about 16 weeks old and not really into investigating as they are all finding their feet.

[CoraxAurata]

Sorry - that was my 'best chance' of her being somewhere else but ok.. though a dog might carry her off and not know what to do with her..? I had a visiting dog jump into a chook area and bring one of the youngsters and deposit her on my doorstep! A little bedraggled a shaken up but Otherwise ok.