my roo head eating off but left body what did this

[bdp7150]

there is 2 cat around that i don't want but wife likes so they will be gone now for sure, tired of being nice guy. 4 leg predators u might want to stay off my property because there will be something hot in your side .it's time for revenge

 

[sourland]

If it was a standard sized rooster, I'm betting something other than the cats.

 

[bdp7150]

3 year old standard barred rock roo

 

[chkn]

I am assuming it was daytime, then I'd say it was a hawk. The only time I've had a hawk kill a chicken was with a younger chicken. Actually, I think it was a falcon rather than a hawk but I don't recall for sure. Anyway, I don't usually worry about the full grown birds but it does happen.

 

[birdicus7]

Most times you have this it's a raccoon. They can cut the head off as clean as a knife. Foxes will take the whole thing and it will just disappear.

 

[Kittymomma]

Quote:
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Cats seldom go after standard size adult birds, the missing head is classic raccoon. I've heard of hawks doing the same thing so I guess that is a possibility too, though the only bird I lost to a hawk (or maybe an eagle, never saw the bird) was just gone with only a big pile of feathers to show where he'd been.

 

[darbella]

A small hawk got my banty hen the other day and started with the head, ate the eyes and all the meat off the head and neck before I saw it so I would guess hawk if the head was still attached. I think a racoon would take the head off.

 

[dewey]

I'm so sorry about your roo.

Here, raccoons are the only wildlife that can legally be taken at night with a firearm. Of course, other laws apply as well, and since many of them live in the highly populated metro cities, options are limited. I had a pet raccoon for a long time.

My cats were (and are) indoor-only after, years ago, 1 was taken by a coyote near my front door's petdoor (which locked them in in late day). But there's many wild & free roaming cats around here, which concern me mostly around the little ones, yet I can't help but think that the free roaming cats are probably often the prey, instead of the other way around.

4 close neighbors (myself included) have recently had something heavy scrambling around on our roofs. It sounds much too heavy for a coon but can't be ruled out. 2 days ago 1 of the completey wild cats ran right inside a neighbors cracked door, terrified, so something was after it. Harbor Freight carries cheap cage traps so that's what we'll probably do to get to the bottom of it.

 

[CMV]

Classic raccoon MO. Owls will sometimes take heads, but hawks tend to eat necks and breasts and leave the heads attached. The further statement about something crawling around on the roofs makes me even more certain you are dealing with a raccoon. Raccoons sound like an army marching across your roof if they get up there.

Good luck catching it. I'd lock the cats up until you get it. Raccoons will make a meal of any cat they can catch. And it's not a quick or easy death.