What would go after my ducks in this manner?

[redhen]

i say a raptor....only because when we saw a raptor (of some sort..a huge hawk or an eagle) fly off from our yard one day...we found loose feathers...and a missing silkie....she did end up coming home that night...but she was missing her breast feathers where she was plucked...

 

[Smartie_Pants]

We only have small chicken hawks, and while I know it might have been able to carry off the duck that just went missing, I don't see how it could have killed the one we found without breaking its neck or pulling out more than a handful of feathers.

 

[nzpouter]

raptors don't break necks... they puncture the lungs of their prey with their talon... basically drowning them in their own blood.

 

[Smartie_Pants]

Can they do that without breaking the skin?

 

[nzpouter]

no, but sometimes it's only visible when you look carefully under the wings.... another thing, most will eat from the base of the neck first.

 

[Cara]

I doubt it's a raccoon too. They make a horrible grisly mess. We had a rough time with them last year killing Pekin ducks, turkeys and a couple of giant Cochins. They go for the throat and eat the crop and breast.

We haven't had any hawk attacks that we know of, but did have Great Horned Owls. They would take small birds without a trace, and decapitate larger ones.

There was a mystery duck predator that still hasn't been found. They would just completely vanish, not even feathers were left behind. The first one was probably a coyote as I did find a pile of duck feathers across the creek with a 'calling card' on top, but the others vanished without a trace. I think it must have been a large bird, possibly another owl. Dogs and other canids will make a mess.