Coop Caper: 20 Chickens Snatched From Newton Community Farm

NEWTON, MA — More than 20 chickens went missing from the Newton Community Farm overnight. Sunday morning, employees found a couple chickens were snatched, as can happen from time to time on a farm. But Wednesday morning when someone spotted a large amount of feathers near the coop, staff realized this was something different. The "thing" had returned in the night and taken more chickens with it, leaving only feathers in its wake. There was a small dirt tunnel dug from under the fence nearby.

"We've ruled out human theft and believe it was an animal, based on the evidence," Karyn Novakowski, the farm’s executive director, told Patch in an interview.

The sudden disappearance turned into a lesson in the cycle of life for the organization’s farm camp, which involve interacting and caring for the chickens.

The chickens are part of the fabric of the farm, and they help paint a full picture of what farming is, said Novakowski.

Every farm has to deal with predators, and Newton's is no exception, in the middle of the woods. Still, it's a difficult thing for many to wrap their heads around.

"There are lots of sad faces on our Facebook page," said Novakowski. "But the biggest impact is really on our education program. They are the group that interacts on a daily basis, harvesting, making sure they are fed ... We were very frank with them about the loss of the chickens and we incorporated that into the lesson."

The rest of community is sad, too, she said. "But it also recognizes this is part of the circle of life on a farm."

In an e-mail to members of its CSA [Community Supported Agriculture] program Wednesday morning, Newton Community Farm manager Greg Maslowe said the farm has experienced loss from predators before, notably a weasel.

"But having your entire flock taken in one night leaves you feeling numb," he wrote.

Maslowe and Novakowski aren't sure what kind of animal ran off with the flock, since there are no night vision cameras and no one was there to see it and aside from the tunnel under the fence, there were no prints.

"I wish we knew what it was," she said. "We could plant something to dissuade it, at least," she said, noting she might put a camera with night vision on the farm's donation wishlist at some point.

Novakowski said the farm is planning to patch up the hole and make sure to keep the last four chickens that survived safe in a raised coop that the animal didn't seem to be able to get into last night.

It's not an ideal time to raise baby chicks, according to the director, so there are no plans at this point to bring in new chickens for the immediate future.

"We appreciate everyone's support and concern about the chickens," said Novakowski.

From the CSA email:

We're all reeling a bit this morning. Earlier this week we had someone (thing) take 4 or 5 of our chickens, leaving a litter of feathers scattered around the farm. When Reva and I met this morning and she mentioned seeing more feathers in the chickens' run we decided to take a look. Sure enough, feathers everywhere. I went into the coop to see how the survivors had faired, only to discover to our horror that there were no survivors—the coop was empty. 20 something chickens taken in one night! All that we have left of our beautiful flock are 4 of my older hens who still roost by themselves in the little gray coop. It's a sad, sad day on the farm. I've only experienced something like this once before in all my years raising chickens. Quite a few years ago now, before the barn had been renovated, we raised the chicks in an enclosure in the upstairs of the barn. I came in one morning to discover that all 25 chicks had been killed by a weasel. We've always had some predation—I guess that's part of raising animals. But having your entire flock taken in one night leaves you feeling numb.

The farm is hosting the Fall Festival at 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sept 22.

Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna).