WARNING: GRAPHIC PICS!!! HELP!!! Something Killed My Guinea!! Can't Figure Out What...

[RedHawk027]

My brother discovered that one of our guineas was missing. He found him, dead and half eaten. The kill was fresh when my brother found him; we are thinking it happened somewhere around 5pm, starting to get dark. The neck was eaten and about half the body was picked off of. The other half of the body was not touched. His head was left, one eye and the lower beak was eaten. The intestines were spewed about, not eaten. The wings were not eaten, practically untouched except for a small patch of missing feathers. If it's a bobcat, it's unlike previous bobcat attacks we've had. In those attacks, just piles of feathers were left with absolutely no bodies. I hope I wrote this clearly; please tell me if you have any questions. Thank you so much for any help you have.

Sorry about the loss PC.
So, have you come to any conclusion as to what actually did kill Bisquick?
Take care and keep safe!

 

[chathound]

Here when the Coopers kill my Birmingham rollers, first they 'pluck' feathers then they eat some of the breast and then they eat the entire head.

did you watch the coopers do it
of all the wild hawks and falcone i have trained and had they would pass on the head because the beak is hard and can cut the hawks throat or get stuck
if you didnt see the hawk doing the killing and eating it would be hard to say for sure it was a coopers
from what you said on your post that sounds like what a skunk would do
but of all the hawks i have had and thats well over 50 of them i have never seen any of my hawks stop eating on the breast to eat the head never seen it
but it could happen

 

[centrarchid]

did you watch the coopers do it
of all the wild hawks and falcone i have trained and had they would pass on the head because the beak is hard and can cut the hawks throat or get stuck
if you didnt see the hawk doing the killing and eating it would be hard to say for sure it was a coopers
from what you said on your post that sounds like what a skunk would do
but of all the hawks i have had and thats well over 50 of them i have never seen any of my hawks stop eating on the breast to eat the head never seen it
but it could happen

I have observed firsthand how Red-tail hawks and Coopers Hawks consume avian prey. With small victims virtually entire victim is consumed with exception of some feathers. Pigeons I consider to be small. With larger prey Red-tails will consume head and a large part of skeleton with typical exceptions being long bones of legs, wings and sternum. First parts consumed are usually soft but if hawk coming back to same kill over multiple days, then much of skeleton also consumed. When either species consumes something like an American Robin of juvenile chicken, they will often consume an entire leg as a single articulated structure even after most of the meat was already picked off. Bone chunks are often sharper than any part of bill and require a considerable amount of contorting for bird to get down.

Chathound, find a Coopers hawk nest and take time to observe the remains of kills after fledging chicks finish an item. You will find they consume a lot more than you allow with manned-birds.

 

[Nutcase]

It looks like you have a hawk attack on your hands. Examining the coop for evidence (like a hole dug under the fence or torn wire) would help you figure this whole thing out. Sorry for your loss

 

[Gallus Sapien]

Where is it then

Look at pic 4 and 5.

 

[Carmi]

We had the same thing happen to one of our chickens this morning; however, i caught it in the act. It was a hawk. It only eats part of the neck and craw of a bird and leaves the rest. I chased after this hawk and almost caught him. Guess i am glad i did not catch him as he probably would have messed me up. I was just reacting.

The problem is, it killed our chicken but did not get to eat it. So it came back later that morning. I am not sure what to do to keep the hawk away. If anyone has any suggestions, i am willing to hear them.

 

[chathound]

I have observed firsthand how Red-tail hawks and Coopers Hawks consume avian prey. With small victims virtually entire victim is consumed with exception of some feathers. Pigeons I consider to be small. With larger prey Red-tails will consume head and a large part of skeleton with typical exceptions being long bones of legs, wings and sternum. First parts consumed are usually soft but if hawk coming back to same kill over multiple days, then much of skeleton also consumed. When either species consumes something like an American Robin of juvenile chicken, they will often consume an entire leg as a single articulated structure even after most of the meat was already picked off. Bone chunks are often sharper than any part of bill and require a considerable amount of contorting for bird to get down.

Chathound, find a Coopers hawk nest and take time to observe the remains of kills after fledging chicks finish an item. You will find they consume a lot more than you allow with manned-birds.

i know what a hawk will and does do like i said i have trained and hunted them for over 30 years and study thier behavior as well but im telling yall that was not done by a hawk it shows all the traits of a skunk but since i was not there and the guy that lost the guinea did not see what done it i was just giving my opinion and year of experience working and training hawks and just the hawk will hunt with me does not mean that they lost all of thier wild waythey are still a wild bird
i am just like yall are i hate it when a hawk kills one of my birds but i dont hate the hawk or point my finger at it and say you did it you murderer and run for my gun lol

 

[sourland]

I don't hate hawks either. As a matter of fact I am in utter awe of them. Yes, I have seen them catch and eat untold numbers of Birmingham rollers over the 6 or 7 years that I tried to put together a competitive kit. 100 + young birds raised a year with maybe 30 or so stiffs surviving at the end of the flying season. Given enough time they will devour an entire pigeon as Centrarchid stated. I watched through my bathroom window as a hawk mantled, defeathered, ate some breast and then consumed the head of one of my birds. GHO for the most part start consuming their prey from the head and work backwards. Larger hawks I have no experience with/knowledge of. Whar one person has experienced does not necessarily make what others have observed wrong. I have given up on flying pigeons. My location (surrounded by tall trees) is not conducive to the flying of birds that must bank several times before hitting the loft.

 

[chathound]

We had the same thing happen to one of our chickens this morning; however, i caught it in the act. It was a hawk. It only eats part of the neck and craw of a bird and leaves the rest. I chased after this hawk and almost caught him. Guess i am glad i did not catch him as he probably would have messed me up. I was just reacting.

The problem is, it killed our chicken but did not get to eat it. So it came back later that morning. I am not sure what to do to keep the hawk away. If anyone has any suggestions, i am willing to hear them.

about the only thing you can do is keep your birds penned up
if you let them free range thats one of the risk you take of something making a meal of it
as far as the chicken that is dead burn it or bury it and the hawk will leave it alone
but what ever you do dont shoot the hawk its a felony if you do it and they catch you or even hear that you did it and they can prove that you did it you will go to jail and have to pay a very steep fine and dont set a trap in order to catch the hawk if you are having trouble with hawks or owls let me know send me a pm telling me where you live and i will look for a falconer in your area so he can trap it and relocate it most of us do not charge for our services

 

[chathound]

I don't hate hawks either. As a matter of fact I am in utter awe of them. Yes, I have seen them catch and eat untold numbers of Birmingham rollers over the 6 or 7 years that I tried to put together a competitive kit. 100 + young birds raised a year with maybe 30 or so stiffs surviving at the end of the flying season. Given enough time they will devour an entire pigeon as Centrarchid stated. I watched through my bathroom window as a hawk mantled, defeathered, ate some breast and then consumed the head of one of my birds. GHO for the most part start consuming their prey from the head and work backwards. Larger hawks I have no experience with/knowledge of. Whar one person has experienced does not necessarily make what others have observed wrong. I have given up on flying pigeons. My location (surrounded by tall trees) is not conducive to the flying of birds that must bank several times before hitting the loft.

i never said he was wrong the thread start with a question of what do you think kill his guinea
i was giving my honest opinion and what i have seen over the years but its possible that hawk did it but i seriously doubt it