just a pile of feathers left....

[critters]

shortly after the sun popped up and my guineas came down out of their tree in my front yard
the chickens started with their racket....got feed for the guineas and for the chickens...headed
to the chicken coop and there was a pile of guinea feathers beside the coop....alot of feathers..
when my guineas get up in the morning they make alot of noise, so for any noises that early
in the AM would not have alarmed me...I always take it as them saying good morning to each other...
....all this took place in my side/back yard so to speak....

what would be so brave as to come so close to my house and kill a guineas at the break of dawn????

it's mate has been hollaring all morning...

feel sooo bad for her.....

 

[Darkjeweler]

Same thing happened to me when I came home from work one afternoon. However, since there was a dog standing outside the aviary, I think I know who the cultrit was.. In my area, so far, the worst predators are stray/wandering dogs and hawks.

 

[PeepsCA]

I've had bobcats, foxes and coyotes pounce on birds the second they jump down out of their roosting tree. Most hungry predators are pretty brazen, salivating killing machines with tunnel vision, focused on their meal. Keep an eye out, the predator will most likely be back until the buffet is closed.

 

[perchie.girl]

I have had Coyotes take chickens right in front of me while I was working in the yard.... no less than sixty feet away. I screamed he stopped a moment then he realized I couldnt get him and he was gone.... with my little last Henny Penny..... She had been happily digging through the horse manure in the corral.

 

[lizzard14]

When our guineas were roosting in the trees, we had the same thing happen. The would get it when the came down and it was in the back yard right off the porch. Long story short, we ended up having a mountain lion and a bob cat. They were both eating our guineas. We went through about 38-40 before we called a trapper.

 

[TedJan92_in_Idaho]

Sounds like a dog just laided down and enjoyed its meal. Most everything else will pack them away if they are able.

 

[critters]

don't really think it was a dog but it is strange to me that all that was left were feathers.....
we have had other guineas, ducks missing and this is the second time any evidence was left
and the time before, 'it' took a few chunks from a ducks neck and back and left the rest laying
in the field.....
I've put up a security camera....hope to catch it one way or the other!

 

[PeepsCA]

Typically dogs make a game of chase out of it, and are somewhat clumsy about catching the bird, and there are usually feathers EVERYWHERE as well as a trail of feathers going in the direction the dog left with the bird, not just a pile... my guess is that it was a wild predator that is used to nabbing prey, getting a good grip on it, and running off quickly with it.

The duck kill sounds like an owl attack to me... was it early morning, evening or during the night?

 

[critters]

The duck attack was early morning....within an hour of day break....
the attacker literally took chunks from the ducks neck and back and left
feathers and the remaining dead duck in the field,
3 feet maybe from the fence dividing the field from the yard...

the ducks were headed to the house from the pond to get their breakfast...

 

[PeepsCA]

Yah, still sounds like an owl, it just wasn't big enough to pack the duck off, so it sat there and had breakfast until it was full or spooked off.
Sorry about your loss, or losses actually

Hope there isn't any more.