SIL lost a chicken last night. The hens roost high in the rafters so whatever it was had a climb to get to them. It was eaten on the coop floor - critter could not get it out of the coop.
The coop is very secure - wire buried all around, 2x4 inch wire covering ‘windows’. We went around the entire coop looking for any place a raccoon or possum could have gotten in - nothing. The coop has an automatic door & it worked properly last night- closes at dusk when the hens roost & opens after sunrise.
My fear is we have something like a weasel that can squeeze through the wire. Never had one before, but there’s always a first time.
My new ‘easy set’ live trap is now set outside the chicken pen, baited with sardines. The sardines are in an open can, under the trap floor, behind the trip plate. The wire on that end of the trap has smaller openings to prevent ‘reaching in’. We also put in plastic tent stakes around the trap to keep ‘whatever’ from moving the trap off the bait. Fingers crossed we get the chicken killer.
Happy Hunting! :)