So we had 5 chicks that were out growing the box so we through them in with the bigger chickens. They are in a dog kennel with chicken wire covering the top so nothing can come through the top. Small gap where the panels and together but not big enough for anything like a coon to come through. In the past week we have lost 2 chicks disappeared without a trace. Whatever is doesn't leave the body inside or nothing like that or messes with the big chickens just the small ones and only takes one at a time. No bodies found just a small pile of feathers outside the pen. I'm not sure how what ever it is get the chick through. Get time tomorrow we are going place a camera, thought maybe you guys have an idea. Cam has littered around the pen with dp traps haven't caught anything. The first chick I thought just ran out of the pen and we didn't realize but we lost another last night or early morning.

At first I’d say weasels but they kill everything, maybe a rat just looking for a simple meal.

I run the wire under and over.

my guess is a rat too

It sounds very much like a female rat with a litter to feed.

Keith

Rat

Big chickens will eat little chickens. Ive seen big chickens eat mice, snakes small birds etc. chickens will devour anything that moves. Little chickens are low man on the totem pole.

Snake

My thought was rat or snake as well.

a snake dont eat very often and chickens would not get through the fence

They eat when the opportunity arrises. If they find a group of chicks, they’ll kill and eat all they can. I once lost 9 chicks in one morning to two black snakes. They only ate half of them.

This^

Guarantee,snake
He can crawl up and get through the small opening at the top.
Could be more than one snake as well.

I've never heard of a snake leaving a small pile of feathers behind.

Depends on what a small pile is. Some could fall off during initial strike and wrap then get rubbed off the snake on exit.

Feathers were outside the pen not in the pen

If a coon can get to the outside.........if this dog kennel has 1" x 2" wire.............coon is an option. They can reach in and pull one out. I kept a bag of cat food in a 30 gallon rubbermaid trash can.......and a coon reached down in there and pulled about 6 inches of half full bag thru a 1 inch hole in the lid. I had a really hard time pulling it out. Their ability to grab onto something and pull is incredible.

A rat looking for an easy meal.