Missing hen

We're down to four hens again. In the three years since I collected four pullets from breeder Paul Healy, I added two more pullets bought from a woman north of Hobart a couple of years back and last summer we bred four more hens (and eight roosters). Over those three years, we've lost:

• Two hens to goshawks (I think)
• One was run over on the road outside our place
• One was found simply stone cold dead in the shed
• Another was found dead on the nest but still warm

And then yesterday one simply went missing. When I went to lock the chooks up, only four hens and Russell the rooster showed up. I'm hoping that she has disappeared into the bush to sit on some eggs and will reappear with a clutch of chicks, but based on the track record above it's not all that likely. Shame, it was so nice seeing Russell followed by his six ladies a couple of months ago. Poor missing hen.