Decapitated duck!

[CajunChickenGuy]

I have a small pen which had 8 young ducks in it. This morning I found a duck head, but the body was gone. I've had coons kill chickens, but there was no "feather bomb" indicating a coon attack. Most of what I read on the net says an owl is the likely culprit. I have seen owls in my trees, so this makes sense. Would a hawk also possibly do this, or is an owl certainly to blame?

 

[minihorse927]

I have had the same thing happen and it was a great horned owl. Hawks generally pack off the entire bird but I wouldn't completely eliminate it.

What time of day did this happen? Hawks are generally daytime hunters while owls hunt overnight but are worst just a couple hours before daylight.

 

[CajunChickenGuy]

It happened at night. I let the ducks free range last night in the hopes they would find a place to hide. Of course that didn't work, and I found a head and a wing this morning. Down to 6 ducks, but the owl is well fed.

I'll try to herd them into a large cage tonight, as I'm sure the owl will be back until the food supply is gone.

 

[minihorse927]

I would bet on owl. Don't completely rule out a coon but this sounds more like an owl attack. Always always always lock them up at night or they will come up missing. I'm sorry you lost one cause its a hard lesson to learn.