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Ducks decapitated and bodies left?

post #1 of 9
5/23/12 at 8:31pm
Thread Starter 

So we just went to lock up our boys for the night only to discover that something or someone??? had killed our ducks, taken their heads and left them dead. What would do that?! Our chickens are MIA. Hoping they escaped and will return

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post #2 of 9
5/23/12 at 9:03pm

How terrible! I'm sorry about what happened to your ducks :,( I also hope your chickens are ok!!! 

Raising two boys and a pampered pekin duck named Soleil (b. 3/12/2012)

Founding member of the Pekin Duck Club on BYC!

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/742668/pekin-duck-club
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Raising two boys and a pampered pekin duck named Soleil (b. 3/12/2012)

Founding member of the Pekin Duck Club on BYC!

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/742668/pekin-duck-club
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post #3 of 9
5/24/12 at 4:47am

Very sorry for your loss.

 

 

 

Quote:  http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/18670/poultry-predator-identification

 

Parts Missing
A dead bird found inside a fenced enclosure or pen with its head missing is likely the victim of a raccoon that reached in, grabbed the bird, and pulled its head through the wire. Or a bird of prey could have frightened your birds into fluttering against the wire, and those that poked their heads through the wire lost their heads.

When you find a bird dead inside an enclosure with its head and crop missing, your visitor was a raccoon. If the head and back of the neck are missing, suspect a weasel or mink. If the head and neck are missing, and feathers are scattered near a fence post, the likely perp is a great horned owl.

Just as a raccoon will reach into a pen and pull off a chicken's head, so will it also pull off a leg, if that's what it gets hold of first. Dogs, too, may prowl underneath a raised pen, bite at protruding feet, and pull off legs.

 

Although, I think sometimes minks or weasels will decapitate for fun, too.  My brother went out to the coop one morning years ago, and found 39 of his 40 chickens all dead and decapitated.  This was a secure building that a raccoon could not have entered or reached through.  He did find a small hole in the floor big enough for a mink or weasel, though.

WI'd rather have a life 'oh wells' than a life of 'what ifs.' " - Anon.

 

Welsh Harlequins and Cayugas; Easter Eggers, Wellsummers, Barred Rocks, Buff Orpingtons

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WI'd rather have a life 'oh wells' than a life of 'what ifs.' " - Anon.

 

Welsh Harlequins and Cayugas; Easter Eggers, Wellsummers, Barred Rocks, Buff Orpingtons

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post #4 of 9
5/24/12 at 5:24am

This happened during the day? I would think raccoon, hawk, or owl....

Owned By: 2 Pekin girls (Ming Ming and Giggles), a Saxony girl (Suzie), 3 Muscovies (Eeyore, Ellie and Eliza), Flemish Giant rabbits, a potbelly pig, chickens, 2 boer goats, and soon to be mom of a pair of bronze turkeys

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Owned By: 2 Pekin girls (Ming Ming and Giggles), a Saxony girl (Suzie), 3 Muscovies (Eeyore, Ellie and Eliza), Flemish Giant rabbits, a potbelly pig, chickens, 2 boer goats, and soon to be mom of a pair of bronze turkeys

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post #5 of 9
5/24/12 at 5:35am

This just happened to me the other day. It also happened to 20 of my chickens a few years ago. Most likely raccoon.

James 2:19- "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe, and shudder."
Hey... what's that?
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James 2:19- "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe, and shudder."
Hey... what's that?
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post #6 of 9
5/24/12 at 7:49pm

    See the Predator  section of the  forum.  We caught  possums decapitating  our chickens also. but at night.

Caretaker to an Arabian, 2 half Arabians, a donkey,2 rat terriers, a jack Russel terrier ,a cat, , Penciled, Gray & Black  Runner ducks, Dutch Hookbill Ducks, Saxony Ducks and mini-Silkie Ducks.

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Caretaker to an Arabian, 2 half Arabians, a donkey,2 rat terriers, a jack Russel terrier ,a cat, , Penciled, Gray & Black  Runner ducks, Dutch Hookbill Ducks, Saxony Ducks and mini-Silkie Ducks.

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post #7 of 9
5/26/12 at 11:10am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brittany0309 View Post

So we just went to lock up our boys for the night only to discover that something or someone??? had killed our ducks, taken their heads and left them dead. What would do that?! Our chickens are MIA. Hoping they escaped and will return

Gosh! What an awful discovery for you!!   

 

Any update on your chickens?  Have they come home? 

 

 

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post #8 of 9
5/26/12 at 3:01pm

Its either a coon or a possum!

 

Praying your chickens return safely!

 

My condolences for the loss<3hugs.gif.
 

3 buff orpingtons: 1 drake 2 ducks, 4 redstar chickens, 1 sassy poodle, 1 parakeet, 1 beta fish, 3 siblings, 2 parents, and 1 Savior I accredit it all to<3

 

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3 buff orpingtons: 1 drake 2 ducks, 4 redstar chickens, 1 sassy poodle, 1 parakeet, 1 beta fish, 3 siblings, 2 parents, and 1 Savior I accredit it all to<3

 

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post #9 of 9
5/26/12 at 4:07pm

I'd actually guess owl. This happened to one of my ducks a little over a year ago. It was awful, I feel terrible for you :(  Now we keep the ducks in an A-Frame style pen with netting over the top inside of a fenced yard and so far, so good.

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