Help! Maybe an owl?!

[buster100]

This morning we awoke to find 2 of our girls killed- a golden laced Wyandotte and a mille fleur bantam (my favorite of all our flock).

We have a 6 foot wood privacy fence, very secure. There are a couple spots where something could squeeze under, but not many.

We have 3 coops but some of our girls still sleep outside. We have put them all up at night in the past but they had been sleeping under the awning of the coop without problems so we let it be.

Here is the part we find bizarre- they were missing the feathers on their head, a few injuries to the head (like small pieces missing) and their eyes were gone. Everything else was in tact.

So we are obviously sad about the loss, but equally as unfortunate is that our male mallard has a broken beak- it is really torn up. About an inch of it is just hanging down. We have isolated him and given him soggy food- but not sure he can eat it. we think he was protecting the hens and was attacked.

I'm looking for two things:
1- input about what predator you think may have done this. We live in Hebron, MD. The eastern shore of Maryland.
2- advice for our duck's beak. I know this is a chicken forum but if you have any experience please weigh in. I'm wondering if I should trim the hanging part or what. Poor fella.

Thanks so much for your time!

(Our poor little bantam, buttercup)

 

[servpolice]

Ok well its diffently not a owl ,by the way and of all animal that pick out eyes while the head is still input is a crow probely a raven if they are around coz owls dont pick out eyes and are your chickens bantems?!?!

And my sister is a vet and i helped her at cases so i advise you to carefully get rid of the hanging piece of beak since there is no use of it anymore

 

[chickengeorgeto]

If you still have the carcass pluck it and look for other injuries. Owls usually kill a chicken by manual strangulation. However they often force it from its roost first, then catch, hold it down, and kill it on the ground, so the neck, head, and back should be closely examined.. Also an owl could eat the chicken's head in one gulp like an owl eats a mouse. I vote for a tag team duo of a predator like a weasel to do the killing (and maiming of the heads) and a scavenger like a crow to pluck out and eat the shinny soft tissues like the eye balls.

 

[servpolice]

If the heads are still attached to the chickens then it wasent a owl or fox or mink or ferret coz they all enjoy the heads except the mink which sucks the chickens blood and i thought weasels also bit the heads off ! But now if i think the preator can also be a bird of prey but they woudent kill loads of chickens and since your ducks beak was chewed and kind of attached i think it was something small maybe ay stout ?!