What predator is this?

[littleoak]

Owl or weasel. The Owl usually attacks at night or evening. The Weasel attacks when it wants to.

 

[janinepeters]

I was thinking it was a smaller predator since only the head and neck were gone. I don't think dog as lots of birds were out and about and only one was killed. And I would have to think a coyote would eat more than just the head and neck. I assume we have weasels in Kansas - I've never seen one or talked to anyone who has. Anybody think hawk or owl?

A tricky one. Sounds like it was during the day, since the chickens were outside. Owl would not be likely to strike during day, and hawks don't usually eat the head/neck first. The only weasel you have in Kansas is the least weasel, which is tiny. I don't think this animal would eat the whole neck, head, beak and all -- more likely to just eat the back of the head / brain and leave the rest. A larger predator would have carried it off, if interrupted during dinner. So I am thinking a small predator, something too small to carry it off, but larger than the least weasel. Maybe skunk or opossum. Mink is possible, especially if it's near some kind of wetland.

 

[cockeral1]

Racoon, they not only have been known to feed during day but the head and neck is also most commonly eaten.

 

[janinepeters]

Racoon, they not only have been known to feed during day but the head and neck is also most commonly eaten.

Does anyone know if this is true, for a fact? I thought raccoons only take the head and leave the body when reaching in through a fence and trying to pull the chicken out by the head. But if they have access to the whole chicken, do they still prefer the head? I thought they preferred the meaty portion and tend to leave the head.

 

[thebanthams]

This information I found:Methods of Kill
A raccoon typically attacks birds by biting the head or upper neck area. The heads of adult birds are usually bitten off and left some distance from the body. The crop and breast may be torn and chewed and the entrails eaten. Raccoons have been known to mutilate poultry in cages by pulling heads or legs off. Several kills may be made during a single night raid with part of one or more carcasses fed upon. Dead fowl may be at the kill site or dragged several yards away. Raccoons are also serious predators of wild bird populations. Reports indicate that raccoons have been responsible for eliminating local populations of some nesting waterfowl.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

almost certainly a fox all they do is take the head and just leave the chicken ( they do this for fun). usually they'll kill almost your whole flock but you were lucky.

 

[janinepeters]

almost certainly a fox all they do is take the head and just leave the chicken ( they do this for fun). usually they'll kill almost your whole flock but you were lucky.

I know of several fox attacks, and none were like this. The fox either ate the chicken in situ, or carried the whole thing away. It's just not typical of canids of any species, so I doubt this is true.

 

[janinepeters]

This information I found:Methods of Kill
A raccoon typically attacks birds by biting the head or upper neck area. The heads of adult birds are usually bitten off and left some distance from the body. The crop and breast may be torn and chewed and the entrails eaten. Raccoons have been known to mutilate poultry in cages by pulling heads or legs off. Several kills may be made during a single night raid with part of one or more carcasses fed upon. Dead fowl may be at the kill site or dragged several yards away.

The only raccoon kill site I have seen fits with this, more or less. If my memory serves me correctly, one chicken was gone with no remains at all, not even feathers (carried off), and two others were decapitated, with heads on the ground and bodies mutilated.

I suppose the OP's story could fit with this, if the raccoon was interrupted just after it attaked.

 

[sourland]

Very typical of GHO kills.