What do you think killed him?

[Garafraxaducks]

Hello,

I have 5 male call ducks (now only 4).
During the day, they wandered over to the creek that is in the field behind us. I went to herd them up and bring them back home when I found 4 cuttled together on the road. I got them back to their coop but couldn't find the 5th one.
My husband went looking for him and unfortunately something got him. I didn't see him, but my husband told me that his head was off and everything with gone other than a wing. He said there were feather in 2 separate locations and it looks like whatever got him, ate everything included the bones.

Do you know what time of animal does that? I was wondering if maybe it was a raccoon? It was also during the daytime..

Thank you!

 

[lazy gardener]

Could be raccoon, possibly fox.

 

[Golden Brahma 64]

Head was off him ? My guess would be a fox

 

[cmom]

A variety of critters, coon, fox, coyote, dog. Most everything likes chickens and ducks.

 

[Garafraxaducks]

Thanks for the responses. Maybe it was a fox...... I know a lot of things like ducks - its just odd that the head was completely separated from him and it ate EVERYTHING but the head. I was wondering if there was a particular predator that would do that?

 

[cmom]

I had an owl at night get into one of my open coops and kill several birds. I finally figured it out when I put up a game camera. I have since put concrete under the gates because I had a fox dig under one and kill some birds and put tarps over the open side and heavy duty netting over the top. I have electric wire going around all of the coops and pens.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Foxes are snatch and run predators so this behavior is atypical of fox predation. Multiple piles of feathers is typical of a hawk attack, So I am thinking it was a hawk that made the kill and some other nefarious critter came along and did clean up duty.

 

[bruceha2000]

Multiple piles of feathers can be fox as well. We found 3 piles some distance apart with the last chicken we lost to a fox. I wouldn't expect a fox to sit and eat where it killed though. I think that scenario is more like a raptor that can't carry the bird off. Coons usually eat ONLY the head and neck leaving the rest.