Each time i log back in I'm missing more animals at my residence on smp3. I've lost all my squid, pigs, chickens, cows, 3 of my mooshrooms and 90% of my sheep. Is anybody else having this problem?
the problem is with fences. if you build a fenced in area the mobs can stand on the same tile of the fence. next time you relog the game doesn't know what side of the fence they were on so they sometimes it spawns them outside of the fence. best thing would be to wall in the entire area and not use fences until it's fixed.
From what I've seen, it depends how many animals are in a certain area. I did a little test with chickens and put three of them into a 1(w)x2(l)x3(h) area. Within a day, two of the chickens disappeared leaving one chicken. That chicken has been in his cage for three days now, so it seems safe to say that in confined spaces you really have to take notice as to how many animals you have. I am able to keep around 300-400 chickens in a 40x30 pen with water pushing them away from the walls so they don't suffocate. Although it's hard to tell how many de spawn (as I'm sure a few of them do), when I slaughter my chickens, I always come out with 300-400 pieces of meat.
Also wanted to say that 15 chickens seem to be holding up in a 4x4x3 area. Make sure to use glass for the walls as animals can't suffocate in it.