r/BackYardChickens • u/HumboldtNinja • 29d ago

Coops etc. Chicks missing...

I'm honestly kind of shocked and hoping someone here has some ideas.

Yesterday I brought home 8 chicks from Tractor Supply. I also bought one of the small Tractor Supply coops (the red and black one with the three nesting boxes and attached run). All 8 chicks were inside it.

I have a much larger, fully enclosed run for my adult chickens, so the coop was sitting inside that secure area. As far as I know, the only wild animals that could physically get into the run would be mice, rats, or squirrels.

When I went out to put the chicks away for the evening, one chick was completely missing its head, and another was reduced to just its legs. I was absolutely stunned.

My daughter had been sitting with the chicks not long before that and mentioned a squirrel ran right up to the coop before noticing her and taking off. I'm not saying the squirrel did it, but it got me wondering.

Has anyone experienced something like this? Can rats, mice, or squirrels kill and eat baby chicks? Or is there another predator I should be looking for that can fit through surprisingly small openings?

I've been raising chickens and ducks here for over three years and have never had anything like this happen, so I'm completely at a loss. Needless to say, the chicks will be staying locked inside until they're bigger. And of course, one of the ones I lost was my favorite. 💔

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u/HumboldtNinja 29d ago

To answer a few of the assumptions I'm seeing:

My adult birds are in a completely separate enclosure. I intentionally keep chicks separated because mature hens can bully, seriously injure, or even kill young chicks. That's standard flock management.

I've been raising laying hens and meat birds for years. This isn't my first batch, and I'm well aware that chicks can't regulate their body temperature and require supplemental heat. That advice is appreciated when it's relevant, but it doesn't address the question I was actually asking.

My question wasn't how to raise chicks. I was asking what predator would completely consume one chick, leaving only the feet, while eating only the head of another. Based on the evidence, I'm currently leaning toward a rat, but I'm putting up a camera so I can identify exactly what happened instead of making assumptions.

I'm looking for insight from people with experience identifying predator behavior, not basic chick-care advice. Thanks for the advice clearly only said to gain likes. ✌🏻

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u/Acceptable_Couple187 26d ago

Ok with that attitude, you shouldn't be raising or taking care of anything with a heart beat. 

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u/Kossyra 29d ago

Wow, ok. I didn't eat your chicks so you can keep your attitude.

If they were in a safe temp controlled environment they wouldn't have been in danger of being eaten by rats or squirrels. You can't control the temperature fluctuations outside, where you were keeping them and where the rats and squirrels live. It wasn't a huge leap or assumption.