A new entry for my "Now I've Seen Everything" file: some animal(s) got into all 3 tanks of feeder mice I raise in my pole barn and killed them ALL! What would do this?
There were 3 aquariums set side-by-side with mesh covers on them. It was not necessary to latch the covers down because they kept the mice confined without latching. On top of one of the tanks I kept a metal tin with their food in it. I had recently filled it with a mixture of lab block and cheap dry cat food. It had never before been disturbed, but 2 days ago I found the lid off & some of the food eaten. I didn't know if I had forgotten to close the tin or if some animal had managed to open it.
That night I made sure the tin was closed and up-ended a heavy feed bucket over it. The next day the bucket had been pushed off the tank and the tin spilled open on the floor. I cleaned it up and put the tin inside the metal garbage can I keep the chicken feed in. At this time I was suspecting squirrels.
There was another incident which I now wonder if it is related: three or four nights ago one of our older hens didn't return to the coop at sundown. My kids noticed this fact but didn't let me know. When they told me a couple of nights later I immediately went looking for her by flashlight. I found her standing on a log at the edge of the yard. My relief at finding her turned to horror when, zombie-like, she lifted what was left of her head from under her wing. Something had chewed off the top of her head and part of her beak! I don't know how she managed to remain living after that. I suspected an opossum, because they will grab heads. If it had been a raccoon it would have killed & eaten more of her.
This afternoon I went out back to get some mice to feed the snakes. I found that all the mesh covers had been knocked off the tanks. There was at least one torn mouse on the table. But the strangest thing is that there are many mice dead on the bottom of each tank! Some seem to have their heads torn off. It is a smelly, fly-infested mess that I didn't want to examine too closely. What kind of animal would do this? It must have been able to work quickly, to kill so many mice before they escaped out of the opened tank.
Now I'm off to clean up the area and set the live traps. Have you ever encountered anything like this? What kind of animal do you think it is?
There were 3 aquariums set side-by-side with mesh covers on them. It was not necessary to latch the covers down because they kept the mice confined without latching. On top of one of the tanks I kept a metal tin with their food in it. I had recently filled it with a mixture of lab block and cheap dry cat food. It had never before been disturbed, but 2 days ago I found the lid off & some of the food eaten. I didn't know if I had forgotten to close the tin or if some animal had managed to open it.
That night I made sure the tin was closed and up-ended a heavy feed bucket over it. The next day the bucket had been pushed off the tank and the tin spilled open on the floor. I cleaned it up and put the tin inside the metal garbage can I keep the chicken feed in. At this time I was suspecting squirrels.
There was another incident which I now wonder if it is related: three or four nights ago one of our older hens didn't return to the coop at sundown. My kids noticed this fact but didn't let me know. When they told me a couple of nights later I immediately went looking for her by flashlight. I found her standing on a log at the edge of the yard. My relief at finding her turned to horror when, zombie-like, she lifted what was left of her head from under her wing. Something had chewed off the top of her head and part of her beak! I don't know how she managed to remain living after that. I suspected an opossum, because they will grab heads. If it had been a raccoon it would have killed & eaten more of her.
This afternoon I went out back to get some mice to feed the snakes. I found that all the mesh covers had been knocked off the tanks. There was at least one torn mouse on the table. But the strangest thing is that there are many mice dead on the bottom of each tank! Some seem to have their heads torn off. It is a smelly, fly-infested mess that I didn't want to examine too closely. What kind of animal would do this? It must have been able to work quickly, to kill so many mice before they escaped out of the opened tank.
Now I'm off to clean up the area and set the live traps. Have you ever encountered anything like this? What kind of animal do you think it is?
