Chicken killed by Unusual predator

[Yaboinic]

Hi all I live in Sydney australia and notice today one of my chickens is dead. The nature of the kill is very odd I found it out in the open no feathers anywhere or real mess and the head and neck only eaten. I have had kills with foxes where they have left the body years ago but always had feathers everywhere and made a mess or easy to spot how they got in. Could this possible be hawk or owl?

 

[sylviethecochin]

While I'm not sure what predators are common in Australia, that would be my guess.

Unfortunately, raptors taking only the head often means chicks, as the heads are easy to carry and high in nutrients. Which means even more recurring visits than a predator would usually do. If it's breeding season in Australia, I'd lock everyone up for a while.

 

[ChickenMumAbi]

We have owls who are partial to baby bunnies, we often find headless bodies lying about. Had no experience with chickens and predators yet, due to the UK avian flu flockdown.

 

[swamphiker]

No head/neck is a good clue it's a bird of prey in North America, I would imagine this would apply in Australia too, but take it with a grain of salt.

 

[cmom]

My first thought would be an owl. Here they hunt primarily at dawn and dusk but will during the night. Good luck...