What got my chicks?

[luvmypets]

A few weeks ago one of our chicks disappeared. The four of them would often adventure far outside their pen so after thorough looking we came to the conclusion the chick had stayed out and got taken. I wasn't to concerned until today.. When we first walked into the barn the grain bin was tipped over and empty, my dad blamed it on our fat rooster roaster, but to me that didn't sit right. Out of all the chicks Jigsaw was the Houdini of the bunch. So when I walked into the barn and he hadn't escaped it was an immediate red flag. Then I saw him under a nest box dead. It was upsetting but it happens, then my panic rose as I realized that none of the chicks were by their mother(Cirra). I then spotted sweet potato dead in the center of the stall. I let the other chickens out and then investigated the damage. Fedora was missing and sweet potato was headless .I moved over the jigsaw who had no visible wounds and I slowly picked her up. I thought she was dead but she let of a couple peeps. She was already too far gone at that point, her head was already craning back. She died about an hour later. We have also noticed fewer eggs, even during moulting we get a few eggs. I'm pretty upset and I'm normally not fazed by chicken deaths. My initial culprit is rats. We had problems with them with our first chickens, but that was five years ago, and we haven't had problems since. Is this something I need to worry about with my other animals? I know whatever it was will come back as it knows there is a steady food supply.

 

[luvmypets]

I have no idea why this posted four times

 

[NH homesteader]

Well rats wouldn't tip over a grain bin! Did the one you found dead have visible injuries?

So sorry about your chicks

 

[babsbag]

So sorry about your chicks, I had a broody loose 4 just a short time ago too With the head gone my guess would be raccoon. I would get a live trap and remove him. Life is too short to mess with predators for the long haul.

 

[Green Acres Farm]

I'm sorry.

I know you loved those chicks.

 

[luvmypets]

Its so annoying. Im wondering if it was weasals? We had problems a few years ago when they killed half my ducks. One of them was headless, but she was a big duck not a itty chick. I still think it is rats. For starters the grain been was barely full. And the chicks were small, like I could still hold them in a single hand. We found a hole at the edge of the stall.. Its pretty big.

 

[luvmypets]

Well rats wouldn't tip over a grain bin! Did the one you found dead have visible injuries?

So sorry about your chicks

Jigsaw had no cuts, bites, visible broken bones, blood.. Anything. She was just dying, sweet potato was headless, but the body was untouched.
The other two just disapeared.

 

[babsbag]

Weasels will do it too, so will opossums, skunks, and owls. Chickens are an easy target.

 

[greybeard]

You may have had a case of multiple species in your pen.
Minks and weasels generally kill for sport, same as a dog does. Rarely eat anything.
Rats and coons eat the heads--fewer feathers to mess with.
Snakes just come and leave, having swallowed chicks whole--appearing that the chicks just vanished.
If you find chick with no apparent injuries but dead, odds are it was suffocated by other chicks on top of it in a corner, or squeezed to death under or between something trying to escape.

 

[Latestarter]

I went ahead and deleted the duplicate posts for you. Sorry you lost the chicks. No idea of the culprit but there are several possibilities. I wouldn't think rats as they would have plenty of food on the ground that they probably wouldn't mess with the chicks. Hope you solve the mystery and get the culprit.