Head Snacher

[ROTTnBRITT]

Went up to the quail pen this morning and found another bird with a missing head. This is the second time this year. I'm assuming the thief is a weasel. Not sure what else could fit into the pen (birds are inside with the opening to the fly pen closed).

Anyone have an explanation for this critter to only take the head and leave the rest of the bird untouched. Seem kind of wierd. Lot of good meat left behind.

[Angus]

What type of pen is it? Wood or wire?

[kninebirddog]

Owls skunks raccoons also will try to pull a bird through the wire

[ACooper]

Cats will pull heads off through wire, could be anything, I would set a live trap.

[Sharon]

Owls skunks raccoons also will try to pull a bird through the wire

and cats . I losta bunch of birds to a cat once.

[ROTTnBRITT]

Wood. With 1/4 on wire mesh around the gap between roof and walls. On the inside of the shed I have 3ft wall with chicken wire to the ceiling. And a door to get into the pen.

[MTR]

I was having it happen last summer to mine as well. I kept thinking of the movie "Dumb & Dumber" when they have a pet parakeet whose head was ripped off and they stick it back on with scotch tape and give it to the neighbor kid as a pet. "Our pets heads are falling off!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULUiV_tj1DI

In all seriousness though, I would like to know as well. I thought that it may be a feral cat trying to pull the body through and only getting the heads?

[Angus]

Sounds like a Johny House setup. Rat or Mink would be the only thing I can think of in PA that can fit through a return funnel. If it is how I am picturing, that should be the only spot to get at the birds.

[wems2371]

Might be a good use for a trail cam, if you have one to set up.

[ROTTnBRITT]

Sounds like a Johny House setup. Rat or Mink would be the only thing I can think of in PA that can fit through a return funnel. If it is how I am picturing, that should be the only spot to get at the birds.

Well not really. There are no recall funnels, strickly made for raising the birds till mature.
Its a shed my dad built when he first started raising birds. He did quail and phez when he has GSP's. It measure prolly 20x12 with two sections inside. One is about 10x12 (i have the quial in this section. only have 8 birds left over from the year, started with 250. But thats another story) with a 12 x 15 flypen attached. There is a 8"x8" hole in the wall to the flypen. Which they cant get out of at this time. The other section ( about 10x8) was originally for the quail, the wire has been taken down and I use the space from my brooder, transport cages and training equipment.

[ROTTnBRITT]

Might be a good use for a trail cam, if you have one to set up.

Yeh, I could try that.

I have 3 that I never use anymore. Havent deer hunted only a couple times since I bought my bird dog. I keep spending the money on an archery licence, muzzleloader tag, and doe tags, Thinking I might go out a couple of time but never do.

[Angus]

Hmm. The trailcam sounds like a great idea. Could be a number of critters. You might have a cannibal quail that uses heads for his perverse rituals.

[Meller]

Had a Rat do that to my pigeons, (just take the heads off).

[Ron R]

Anyone have an explanation for this critter to only take the head and leave the rest of the bird untouched.

If it was a weasle they ussually eat the heads and drink the blood. I can't picture anything catching a bird by the head through the wire. Birds are dumb but very skidish. A racoon will kill everything just for the sake of killing, has nothing to do with eating.

[goldenpatch29]

Hmm. The trailcam sounds like a great idea. Could be a number of critters. You might have a cannibal quail that uses heads for his perverse rituals.

+1....That is hilarious and kind of true at the same time. Pen raised quail can be very cannibalistic at times. My grandparents had game chickens and they also practiced perverse cannibalism, hahaha.....but they would all gang up on a seperate hen and peck at its head until there was hardly nothing left at all. After a couple episodes like that, they decided to make them free ranging chickens..ha.
But on a serious note, its prolly some kind of critter and the trail camera sounds like the way to go!

[birdshot]

probably to for north for the Chubacara. That would be my first guess if you were in Texas.