Headless bird

[bizzynik]

This morning when my son let out the chickens, he found one dead. When I went up to investigate, I saw a headless body, with one side of the organs exposed. There was no blood in the coop, and it didn't look like the organs were ate on. One of my girls is limping and missing feathers on her back, but I don't know if I'm missing any other birds since they are already out in the yard. Last year we had a fox get in and kill 4 and took one, so we tightened security after that. Any idea what could have done this? I'm thinking a raccoon, but I'm not sure how it got in.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Raccoons equal headless birds.

They can reach through anything bigger than 1/2 inch and rip heads off... they don't have to make it inside.

 

[aart]

Any idea what could have done this? I'm thinking a raccoon, but I'm not sure how it got in.

Coons needs a pretty big opening >4" or so...they can peel back stuff and squeeze thru,
so look for fur stuck somewhere.
Could have been a member of the weasel family, who need a much smaller hole to enter.

 

[Susan12]

We had a hawk eat the heads off several chickens.i thought racoon too till my son saw the hawk .

 

[Dr.GarryTTucker]

Dito on the coon! They kill for fun, not because they wanna eat chickens. It’s very common so see headless victims with coons. Coons will stick there hands through a 1-2in hole. Grab a close by chicken and pull its head off. Depending on location, it could be like aart said, a smaller predator.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

We had a hawk eat the heads off several chickens.i thought racoon too till my son saw the hawk .

This would depend on time and location... hawks are daytime hunters as far as I know. They can only go through open doors as well.

It's true different aerial predators have different MO's as to which parts they eat or leave behind, and that can be a good indicator when trying to decide which one. Thank you for sharing!

 

[aart]

Dito on the coon! They kill for fun, not because they wanna eat chickens. It’s very common so see headless victims with coons. Coons will stick there hands through a 1-2in hole. Grab a close by chicken and pull its head off. Depending on location, it could be like aart said, a smaller predator.

No, that's just humans that kill for 'fun'.
Wild animals kill to survive or defend territory.

A coon can tear off more than just the head thru a fence,
tho the head is usually the first to go.

 

[Dr.GarryTTucker]

No, that's just humans that kill for 'fun'.
Wild animals kill to survive or defend territory.

A coon can tear off more than just the head thru a fence

No, that's just humans that kill for 'fun'.
Wild animals kill to survive or defend territory.

A coon can tear off more than just the head thru a fence,
tho the head is usually the first to go.

Hahaha whole industries built around killing for fun and sport.
Ok well I just assumed since I’ve never really seen a coon eat a chicken. Just tear it to bits and leave it.