All my chickens vanished!!!!

[coryspacecowboy]

Last night was an awful night, I went over to a friends house, had way too much to drink, I made it home around midnight and went straight to the coop to lock it up only to find all 6 of my 2 1/2 month old girls were missing, I cant find any trace of them, no blood, feathers, nothing... Im assuming the worst, but I just cant believe something took every last one of them... What do you all think happened?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Welcome to BYC --
Were they free ranging in you absence or were they confined within an enclosed run that is attached to the coop? Knowing what the area they disappeared from is like is going to help us better sort out likely scenarios.
With such young birds they are more vulnerable to predation. However, with such young birds, they are also more prone to not "cooping up" at night and may have simply found a different location to huddle together and sleep for the night and are more likely to have wandered just a bit too far and become unsure of how to make their way back to the coop. Are you posting now on the morning after, or is it still night where you are located? Have you worked with your birds to teach them to come to a call and, if so, have you tried that to see if you can elicit a response that you can follow to locate them if they are huddled up somewhere?

 

[coryspacecowboy]

This is the next morning, i waited for the sun rise and immediatly searched everywhere in my yard.

They were free range, I would just go out when the sun set and they would always be in there just waiting. The environment is my backyard, we live on the top of a hill surrounded in every direction by a hundred or so acres of tall grassy fields.... It does seem like it would be awful easy for them to get lost out in it....

 

[coryspacecowboy]

And no i never taught them a call, they would always just run to me when i went out.

EDIT: I LIVE IN KENTUCKY

 

[TalkALittle]

I'd start walking outward in a spiral from your yard. Take a cup of feed and shake it while calling and clucking for them. You might just get lucky and find a few. Where you live sounds beautiful, but also sounds like a predator's paradise. Good luck.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Here are some articles that might help you some, depending on what you find. Not all predators read the same book so sometimes the normal stuff doesn’t help but it is all you have to go by. Have you found any tracks or poop that could help identify a predator?

Most predators do at least leave some signs, feathers, blood, carcasses, something. A snake leaves no traces but one snake is not going to eat 6 chicks that size unless you have a huge boa or python. That’s not likely. A canine like a fox, coyote, or dog might take them without a trace thought they often at least leave feathers. A human can take them without a trace. I guess something else is possible but that is pretty much my without-a-trace list.

Predator Identification
http://icwdm.org/inspection/livestock.asp

http://pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-2111/ANSI-8204web.pdf

http://www.extension.org/pages/7120...mall-and-backyard-poultry-flocks#.VDQPcxEtCUk

Like OGM said, at that age they are likely to not go back in the coop at night but mine normally bed down right next to the coop when they do that. If they have been going back to the coop on their own though, they probably did. At that age they are more vulnerable to predators. They are so small that something that would normally take only one or two will take them all, especially if there is a nest of babies back home to feed.

It’s also possible if a predator attacked that they scattered and hid. Some may have made it. I wish you luck.

 

[AA Maple]

Last night was an awful night, I went over to a friends house, had way too much to drink, I made it home around midnight and went straight to the coop to lock it up only to find all 6 of my 2 1/2 month old girls were missing, I cant find any trace of them, no blood, feathers, nothing... Im assuming the worst, but I just cant believe something took every last one of them... What do you all think happened?

I woke up to a missing half dozen ducks this morning and they turned up about 100 yards downstream from their run/box. I'd start searching ASAP. You'll find either some evidence of the culprit or a wayward flock. Good luck!

 

[Silvia2234]

What breeds? If they were orninantal breeds, they probably were taken by a hooman.

 

[sourland]

OP has not been on site in over 6 months.