# Lost one :( **Warning, Graphic Images**



## SterlingAcres (Oct 19, 2009)

Not a goat. A bunny. Last night was really warm, so I left the pop door open for the doelings. I went out to feed this morning and found one of our rabbits destroyed inside the run. I'm not sure if it was an owl or a hawk, but it was gross.  Bunny's brother is really skittish and hiding inside the barn. Poor thing :tears:

Edited to add this graphic photo: If you can identify what ate him, it'd be helpful. His face and ears are missing, his throat is ripped to shreds, his guts were pulled out.
http://i517.photobucket.com/albums/u340 ... G_4256.jpg


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## sweetgoats (Oct 18, 2007)

*Re: Lost one *

Oh I am sorry. Poor thing. He will need a little extra carrots


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## StaceyRosado (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: Lost one *

oh im so sorry - i love bunnies, ok I just love any animal but pigs -- they are so cute. So sorry you had to find it like that this morning  :hug:


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

*Re: Lost one *

So sorry for your loss...  :hug:


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## SterlingAcres (Oct 19, 2009)

Added a photo.

Anything thoughts as to what did this are appreciated. Thanks.


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## Epona142 (May 26, 2008)

It could have been a raccoon. That's how they would eat my birds at the last house I lived in. Destroyed my entire flock.


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## SterlingAcres (Oct 19, 2009)

We've been here two years and we've never had a raccoon issue. These pen walls are 8ft tall (was built for Eastern Wild Turkeys we had), do you think it could still be a raccoon?


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## bheila (Jan 10, 2009)

I'd say raccoon. Owls usually take their food with them depending on how heavy the animal is. We have raccoons who live on our property, they never climb the fence but will chase the chickens dumb enough to fly out of the run. Also, any time the raccoons have killed our birds they always eat part of the head and usually most of the backs. We had one raccoon reach his hands through the fence and kill one of our turkeys....ate him the same way as the chickens.


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## Epona142 (May 26, 2008)

I was at my place about two years too, before the ***** discovered it. And wall height makes no difference to the murdering thieves.

Can you get a large live trap and bait it with cat food, eggs, or marshmallows? That might give you an idea if there's ***** hanging around.


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## SterlingAcres (Oct 19, 2009)

I'll see what my grandfather's got laying around his place. He used to trap. He's got a nice 1500 acre parcel about an hour from us.


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## kids-n-peeps (Aug 24, 2009)

Hmm. . . okay, stuff like this fascinates my husband. He's a biologist, so here are his thoughts (and get ready, he's as long-winded as I am, lol): 

Raccoons and o'possums are known for their messy kills because they are omnivores (not strict carnivores). They would likely eat the head and the guts since they are body parts rich in fat and calories. Foxes, bobcats, and coyotes rarely eat their kills in the yard. Weasels and minks, because of their smaller size, will sometimes consume carcasses in the yard. They are very efficient predators, normally killing with a swift bite to the back of the head and then will consume the choice pieces of the kill, which are often the entrails and brain tissue. Contrary to the common myth, weasels and mink do not suck the blood from their victims. Skunks are a very remote possibility as they normally do not attack adult animals; they are more guilty for stealing eggs/young; however a good friend had a skunk maul an adult Cochin rooster which was sleeping on the ground. The skunk didn't kill the rooster on the spot (as they stepped in), but it died a few days later from its wounds. Only young, inexperienced raptors will normally eat prey on the ground close to human habitation, but this isn't the time of year for fledgling raptors. 

In normal situations, most carnivores will kill only what they need, but when presented with a group of prey items concentrated in a small area (as in barnyard settings), they can sometimes go on killing frenzies. It isn't because the animal is sick or deranged, but simply overstimulated by a large group of prey items which cannot escape. 

The above being said, and there are always exceptions, but based on the circumstances present, he would suspect a raccoon or o'possum, possibly a mink or weasel.

So now he wants to know if there were any tracks in the snow/mud?
Also, were your chickens killed similarly or were they taken off?


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## ProctorHillFarm (May 15, 2008)

Poor thing- I would say racoon or a fisher cat. I had never heard of fisher cats until I moved to MA, but I guess they are everywhere.
Nasty little buggers and will kill just for sport. One of my bosses chickens looked similar to this after a fisher got to her.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Sorry you had to find him that way :hug: 

There would be tracks around from the killer....I'd say a **** too but also wouldn't rule out a weasel.


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## SterlingAcres (Oct 19, 2009)

:veryangry: :veryangry: :veryangry: :veryangry: :veryangry: :veryangry: 
Sabie is now dead too. Found him in the same spot. Puncture wounds to the back of his neck, blood running out his mouth and nose. Nothing was eaten.

I see no visible tracks inside the pen, nor do I see a hole or anything where they could have been reached from the outside. Our pen is solid plywood the first 20" or so, to keep chicks inside it.

I threw Bunny down in the woods this morning, figuring if it was the stupid hawk, it'd just finish the job. But no, whatever it was, killed the second one instead of finishing the first one. There are weird looking tracks around Bunny's carcass. They look like bird tracks and they're much too small to be my chickens, but they don't look like hawk prints either.


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## bheila (Jan 10, 2009)

If it happens again...God forbid it does, take pics of the tracks and post them.


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## SterlingAcres (Oct 19, 2009)

I'm ahead of ya lol. I took a few pictures. My husband will want to know what I found.

Here's the tracks: Taken from my cell, sorry they're fuzzy.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Besides the goat tracks and chicken tracks....I see cat tracks. Definately not a **** or weasel.


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## kids-n-peeps (Aug 24, 2009)

I'm no good at this and hubby isn't home, but here's a link to a great horned owl track:

http://www.nature-watch.com/owl-track-p ... th=160_178

Here's one that includes a sketch of a snow track:
http://www.southwestwildlife.org/pdf/Gr ... Glance.pdf

Just a thought . . .


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## SterlingAcres (Oct 19, 2009)

liz said:


> Besides the goat tracks and chicken tracks....I see cat tracks. Definately not a **** or weasel.


This was taken near the carcass I threw into the woods. Goats and chickens were no where around it, I think that's just the way the snow melted. The bird track right in the middle of the photo is what I'm talking about. They were everywhere around it, but way too small to be my chickens. My roosters about 12lbs.


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## liz (Oct 5, 2007)

Ok...thats a bird track so if you threw the carcass there then it could be that crows were eating it before you took the pic. :shrug:


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## kids-n-peeps (Aug 24, 2009)

check out those owl track links - I'm also trying to find hawk track links . . .


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## kids-n-peeps (Aug 24, 2009)

hmm . . . I misunderstood and thought you found the bunny there. So those tracks could mean something, but maybe not. The two wounds to the back of the neck and nothing eaten makes me wonder if it could have been a mink. We had 8 week old chicks one time in a covered run, with the perimeter sealed pretty tightly. While on vacation, all of them were killed. Our neighbor who was shutting them up in the evening and letting them out in the a.m. found them all lying dead on their sides, completely uneaten all with puncture wounds to the back of their necks.


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## SterlingAcres (Oct 19, 2009)

I've had experience with minks before.

I've never seen one here, but I wouldn't doubt it. Like I said, I saw no holes... My grandfather had an issue with one. It completely destroyed a flock of 60+ birds and didn't eat a single one. Needless to say, he sent that with me to taxidermy school. lol 

I've emailed him asking for a live trap. We'll see how it goes.


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## SterlingAcres (Oct 19, 2009)

kids-n-peeps said:


> I'm no good at this and hubby isn't home, but here's a link to a great horned owl track:
> 
> http://www.nature-watch.com/owl-track-p ... th=160_178
> 
> ...


Looks similar, but aren't owls nocturnal? Pardon my ignorance


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## kids-n-peeps (Aug 24, 2009)

Yeah, Shell, I was confused . . . I thought the tracks were found around Bunny at the scene of the crime (and I had assumed she had been attacked in the night if you found her this a.m.). However, I'd agree with Liz that if Bunny's body was moved during the day that those are likely crow tracks -- back to square one :hair: 

Let us know if you trap something!


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## SterlingAcres (Oct 19, 2009)

Yeah, no sorry about that. I found no tracks inside or outside of the pen where I found either dead bunny. I moved the first carcass into the woods and those were the tracks I found around it. I carried both rabbits further into the woods. Everyone is locked up tight in the barn tonight. I even made sure my barn cat was in there. If it's a weasel, he'd better bring an army. lol


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## Dreamchaser (Oct 30, 2008)

I can tell you it was not a bird. If it was a bird, you would see fur pulled out everywhere in tufts.

Can you take pictures of the enclosure? I might have a better idea of what it was. I need pictures from above and below from inside if possible. I then can possibly tell you if the animal is a climber, or a crawler.

Also, were the rabbits found against the fence? If so, check on the other side of the enclosure for the tracks. A racoon will reach in, grab what they want, and eat through the fence, then drop it back down when they are done.


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## SterlingAcres (Oct 19, 2009)

No, I checked. There were no tracks inside or outside. At all. Really weird. The first 20" or so of the pen is solid plywood and it's buried, not far, but enough. The rabbits were found near the fence, yes.

I'll see if I can find a picture...


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## Dreamchaser (Oct 30, 2008)

Sounds like the animal is just hanging on the fence. Is there any tree branches close enough to drop down from? Also, it could be coming from off the roof. In order to find where he is coming from, you have to think like a predator. Could be racoon or Opossum. A skunk would more likely be on the ground.


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## SterlingAcres (Oct 19, 2009)

I asked my Dad about it. He seems to think it's a small weasel and he's planning to get it this weekend.


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## farmgirl42 (Jan 3, 2010)

I agree that it is probably a ****. Around here, they would climb up the legs of the cage, hang off the bottom of the pen and reach through to where they were sleeping/resting and gut them through the wire. Then pull parts of them through the wire to eat. They are really vicious killers in my experience.


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## RowdyKidz (Apr 2, 2009)

kinda looks like **** tracks to me as well.  I have alot of experience with raccoons. They almost look like cat foot-prints in the snow, depending on how deep. I actually just tracked **** tracks this AM all over our farm. I'm going to have to set a live trap.  I hate trapping and killing but I can't deal with a raccoon. Especially up by the barns and house with our goats and small dogs. Those ***** are tricky and maybe too smart for their own good.

Anyway, hope you can get to the bottom of this and track down the animal! I am so sorry for you're losses!


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## Dreamchaser (Oct 30, 2008)

Any update on what it was? I also have a **** track photo I took today if you need to know what they look like. In fact, I'm just going to post it. Hope it helps someone anyway.


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## farmgirl1 (Mar 14, 2010)

Sooooo sad. Didn't look at the pictures tho. I probably wouldn't be able to help and the pics would bring back memories of my two old rabbits so I didn't look but I am very very sad about this. :tears:


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