A chicken snake got one of my chicks!
The snake apparently slipped through the gap between the coop and the cage.
I had used old tire to fill the gaps but the snake only needs a small opening to get in.
This AM when I opened up the hutch out popped the hen with the three white chicks.
No blackie. So I popped open the cage and there was a chicken snake. Blackie was a bulge.
I dispatched the snake with a blow to the head and threw it in the forest.
Time to work on my design to eliminate any gaps where the coop meets the cage.
Additionally, I had not moved the tractor in a couple of days which probably let the snake find the chicks.
Count yourself fortunate if you don't have to deal with snakes!
Here is a picture of a chicken snake my dad took which was eating a squirrel. He heard a noise up in a pecan tree and down plopped a snake next to him. The snake is pictured eating the squirrel. These are actually rat snakes which eat a variety of animals including chicks and eggs.