What kind of predator do I have?

[Scraps]

My guinea was missing this morning. Right out in the middle of the yard I found a small
pile of feathers, a bright red neck and the intestines. What the heck eats everything but
leaves a neck and sparkley white intestines? No mess, no blood, no footprints. Nothing.

Any ideas?

Needless to say, the trap is set so hopefully I'll know the answer in the morning.

 

[hellafarms]

WOW! If you catch it let us know what it was.

 

[highcountrychickens]

Oh I'm SO sorry to hear this!

The truth is that there are all kinds of predators that your description would fit... It's probably not a youngster, because a more schooled predator will rarely eat the intestines - they know there are bacteria there that are tough to digest... My guess is that it is a raptor because a coyote or raccoon or fox or opossum would carry and stash... but it's just a guess.

 

[Scraps]

Thanks for your thoughts on it. I've lost a few birds over the last couple
of years to racoons, so I'm sure this was done by a different animal. Neck
was perfectly severed and skinned, no meat missing, just the skin. Intestines
very clean and layed out as if arranged. Looks like it could have been done by
a surgeon it was so neat and tidy. I'll let you know if I find something in the
trap in the morning......

 

[gsim]

If they free range, I would guess a hawk or owl. Coon would eat the head and kill more and eat their heads too. Coon might have trouble getting a bantie becuse they can fly too, but no bantie can escape an owl or hawk.

 

[NateinFL]

Quote:
They lost a guinea not a bantie. Where does the guinea roost at night I think that could help narrow it down some.

 

[Scraps]

Let me add some more to the story. I have a mammoth broze hen. Big baby, loves to hang out on the porch.
She never goes further than the garage, never wanders into the woods...just hangs around close to the house.
I saw her Tuesday morning, got home around 3 and she was gone. I looked everywhere. I took 5 or 6 walks back in the woods,
took the dogs hoping they would pick up on something. Not even a feather, just disappeared.

Sooo.......I have 2 eastern turkey hens who usually roost way up on the chicken coop roof. Went out early evening last night and
only 1 was there on the roof (I had just fed them about an hour before so I know they were both OK at that point) Hubby and I
looked around with flashlights and couldn't find her so I was hoping she was way up in a tree somewhere. This morning, only 1 turkey left.
I walked the fenceline and found a small amount of feathers and 2 little chunks of flesh about the size of a quarter. Again, no mess. Very neat
and clean and no signs of a struggle anywhere.

What the heck can make 2 full size turkeys just vanish? And, is there something that'll eat feathers and all? These were 2 full grown turkeys, the
mammoth bronze was a good 30-40 pounds so it's not like a hawk could just pick her and carry her away.

 

[NateinFL]

I'm willing to bet you have a bobcat. I just went through that a couple weeks ago and it sounds eerily simliar, exept it took a full grown male peacock from my pen (I had left the gate unlatched and he came out of the woods). Body was found half-buried 20 feet into the woods. I put a cage right where I found the body, left the birds head in there as bait along with a chunk of raw chicken and that evening I had a bobcat. Yours will be back for more so lock em up good.

 

[Roy]

Some sort of Bird of Prey, Owl, hawk...

 

[Scraps]

A bobcat?!

Geesh, I just found out that Jacksonville is starting to have a
Coyote problem

I really hope its not a bobcat, the only trap I have is
one sized for a racoon or possum. How did you catch your cat?