Last night something got into our electrically protected chicken run, (which in turn protects an inner run where the coop is) and has made off with two of our three chickens.. no bodies.. just lots of feathers.. Absolutely no idea how it got in.. So that leaves me with one lonely chicken.. I would love to be able to re-home her .. Any idea how I could do this? Don’t really know the neighbours well enough to ask. Thought this may be a good platform to find any interested takers for Ruby.. 
.. She is 18 months old and lays one egg every day without fail!!! I am halfway between Perigueux and Bergerac and would be happy to drive her to her new home with some new friends.. Thanks for listening.. xx
So sad. The only consolation for my last 2 being similarly murdered and carried off on Boxing Day was that nobody would be left alone waiting for Mr Tod to come and do his worst.
thank you… its really awful.. we couldnt have looked after them more.. and yes, I wish all three of them had gone together (and very quickly!).. Husband currently clearing out the coop so she doesn’t sit in there tonight traumatised .. He may well sit there with a shotgun given his current mood - for the predator I must quickly add!!!
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It is terrible how vulnerable they are. I love hens but having them means accepting that some day, somehow, some frightful predator will get them, no matter your efforts. Heartbreaking.
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So sorry about this.
Might this sad time actually be the right time to make contact with your neighbours? just thinking that they might be grateful for the warning and/or might be glad to take your orphan…
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I have really lovely neighbours but non of them are ‘chicken’ people, one has a daughter that is terrified of chickens, the other has a new born.. the rest are second home owners so dont quite fit.. She needs some friends.. and I am NOT getting anymore.. Thanks again Stella for your response.. Jane
I don’t know if @toryroo has any hens left, she might, and she’s not too far away from you.
thank you Vero for that.. do you think she would mind if I contacted her?.. its definitely worth a try.. its heartbreaking seeing poor Ruby looking for her friends.. cannot bear it.. Again, thanks..
What predators are these that are that good they can get through these defences? Is there any way the outer electric could be turned up to frying level at night?
Very sad thinking about these poor hens. I don’t remember this happening to hens in my childhood but then I was somewhere else. Would a thing like an Amazon Blink security camera at least help you see what predator?
I’m sure she wouldn’t mind at all!
This happened to me. Lost 4 chicken in various ways and was left with only Bella. She became a good companion and often follwed me around in the garden, Think she was happy enough. She died last year age 4 years, So sad, Still miss her. Can’t face getting any more for the time being.
This is the reason I stopped having any poultry - too much annoyance, trauma for the kids, and wasted effort. Part of life in the countryside, but I can live without, even though I enjoyed having them around. I also know for certain that we have martens and foxes in our current place, so defo no fowl!
I too have chickens, alas all gone, murdered by a predator. Since my run is well proctedby high voltage fencing only access is from above where there was only fly netting. My guess is pine martens which are the only creatures likely to have come from above so I have ditched my coop and bought a new one made in Germany which is fully enclosed with wire mesh so protected from above and at all sides as well as from underneath with concrete in addition to the main run which has an electric fence. I lock them in the protected area overnight and theyare only given free range in the daytime. They are poules pondeuses and havent started laying yet but I am hopeful.
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good luck hope it works out.
Hi @Frpggyfrankel,
I would love to see a photo of that.
If I get around to having chickens it will tell me what to look out for. I don’t have to have a chicken taken to know that here, I’d need something like yours
I’m in the UK at the moment, but will send you a pic when I get home.
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Likewise, I’d be interested in the make & model too, please.
My new chicken coop is quite secure as it comprises a coop large enough for four hens, two laying boxes and a small but adequate run entirely enclosed by strong wire-mesh on all sides including the top. The actual coop is 2 feet above a concrete base so provides a dry spot in case of rain. Access to the coop is from the back with a slide out metal tray for easy cleaning. The hens get into the coop up a ramp and the coop itself can be closed by a sliding door which I close after sunset for added security overnight. Since, in my case the new set-up is within the original run I can let them out into the wider area in the daytime. So far so good. I have had so many fatalities in the past that I will only let them have full freedom when I am out there with them in the larger unfenced garden. The worst predators have been pine martens getting in from the top. The coop is available on Amazon France and Germany with prices around 380 Euros plus shipping. Manufacturer is Wiltec. I could send you a photo of mine but the website view is fine. Dont give up. I love having hens.
Froggy Frankel
That seems good value for money, particularly if it lasts.
When I was a kid my parents kept hens, the hen house was make from a box that came from a car plant and the hen run was attached (detachable) and the whole lot was mobile so the hens got a fresh patch to scratch over as soon as they have worn out their current patch. The run my Dad made had a horizontal wire ‘skirt’ about 2 feet wide. So a predator would actually be standing on it if they came up to the side of the run. This worked well and no hens were killed in the run. Prior to that, we used to free-range the hens during the day, and it was another matter. The foxes killed off a lot of hens before the run was built. I remember one day I found about 6 hens the fox had taken, they were buried in a ploughed plot of land that my father had ploughed and rotovated, with each hen having one leg protruding above the soil. Never saw anything like it before or since.
(Edit to correct typos)