We have predators here in the middle of suburbia too... Coyotes, Racoons, and Hawks.
The last two I have regular encounters with. 😕
The Hawks dive bomb but are a little too small to attack and carry off the chickens...they could strike and eat in place though.
Racoons at twilight/night are biggest threat.
Took this pic of the nest box earlier today, I guess we had a visitor last night!
As you likely know poultry is susceptible to disease. We lost Ethel our other Orpington to a likely respiratory disease in November '16.
Healthy one night, sick next AM, dead that night. 😞 Sad, but life. Awesome pet chicken. Gave us many a laugh walking right into house/kitchen to say "hi" and see what scraps we'd give her. LOL
That's me, the "crazy chicken guy".
And thanks for the omelets ladies!
Now that we're down to 2 chickens we plan to get 4 more chicks next month from a local hatchery. 2 Reds and 2 Orpingtons. 😄