What is killing my pheasants?

bauerline

bauerline

Well-known member
I'm trying to figure out what is killing some of my pheasants. Sunday and Thursday morning I went to check the birds and each morning there were two birds dead. Three of the birds were missing their heads and the neck was missing the skin and feathers. The 4th bird was in the corner and it looked like something was trying to pull it out. I'm pretty sure whatever it is, its not getting in the pen or there would be more dead birds. I'm thinking maybe a raccoon is reaching in through the fence. My plan is to put up some black out material along the bottom of the pen so the critter can't reach in. Anybody have any other tips/ideas?

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Good morning Bauerline. Sorry to hear about your birds. Luckily the entire pen wasn't knocked out by a mink, weasel, or coon.;)

By the sound/look of things you may have two issues???

Owls like to eat the heads off of birds. As your pheasants flush, then get their heads caught in the netting at the top of the pen, owls will grab them by their head and (as you can see) eat their head.

But by the sound of things, you may also have a 4 legged critter getting in there too, due to something working on pulling a dead pheasant out of the pen from the ground.
 
I think you're right about the two issues. I think a raccoon is getting the birds all wound up and making them flush. And I think one or two then get stuck in the net with the blinders. That's when the owl takes off the head. I did see one bird on Sunday that didn't have any blinders on. Not a big surprise but I noticed one the of purple prongs was still in the nostril. I did find a purple blinder with one prong broken off. All of this is happening in the part of the pen that doesn't have tall cover growing and where I keep the feed/water. I'll be adding the black out material today and set a live trap tonight and see how it goes.
 
Owl for sure. Raised lots of birds and saw alot of this issue. Owl will fly over the pen and make them flush and grab one through the netting, eat the head off and drop back into the pen. Nail a foot hold trap to the highest post on your pen, problem solved.
 
Raccoon. Usually mom and the half raised kits. Seen it before, many times. Use a box trap with sardines, wire the can to the treadle, place in the rafters if you can. Get a big one, usually the #300 or so. You'll get them all at once. If you are thinking "witness protection" program, I have had the same raccoon back doing it's routine from a 20 mile distance in three days. I know because I striped him orange across his back with spray paint. They will never stop, till you get them all.
 
The more I look things over the more I think it is an owl. There are feathers on the netting and most the birds are found in the middle of the pen like they were dropped from above. The one that was in the corner had feathers on the netting above. All of this is happening in a smaller part that doesn't have cover. The part of the pen that has a lot of tall cover doesn't have any of these signs. I can close off the smaller area and keep the birds in the part with the tall cover. It will make feeding a little more difficult but if it keeps the birds safe it is worth doing. I will also set up the live trap.
 
david0311

Headin west said:
Owl for sure. Raised lots of birds and saw alot of this issue. Owl will fly over the pen and make them flush and grab one through the netting, eat the head off and drop back into the pen. Nail a foot hold trap to the highest post on your pen, problem solved.
Click to expand...

Agree with owl based on years of experience with this--suggested solution will work for sure------

:eek: ----HOWEVER-----:eek:

Feds and some state officers would consider this a serious violation of Federal Law---with some serious penalties---discretion of use very important----

Just letting you know--good luck!!!
 
100% an owl. I believe you can do something about nuisance critters, including an owl. Just call the warden. I have dealt with the same problem. Trust me, when he is there, he will not leave until you do something about it. I found a solution for my problem and it is over for now. Otherwise you could do a double net which cost money and time. 1 net above the one you have with a few feet separation. Or one rigged lower. But normally humans start low to begin with. The options listed are your only recourse, or keep picking up dead birds. One thing for sure, is there is no short supply of owls any more. Ask your warden if you can rid of the problem.
 
Brian,

The farmer next to our camp had the same problem, it turned out to be owls. The raccoon might be reaching in and grabbing an already dead bird and try ing to pull it out.
He set up a motion light over the pen, it seemed to help, but he also took matters into his own hands...the problem then went away!
 
No problems last night or this morning. I think/hope having them stay in the pen with a lot of overhead cover will keep the pheasants from flushing up.
 
just so you know ,and maybe you do, killing raptors is akin to killing our pet wolves, serious federal offense. You may have seen the ads as a public service announcement a few years ago.
In Co. and probably other states, you have a right to protect your stock, this law however may be up for interpretation when the fed shows up.
maybe use the 3 s's(shoot,shovel,and shut up)
 
Somebody saw what is getting on pen to go after pheasants. A cat is the problem. Time for a box trap.
 
I doubt this is the case. You may have a cat around but that is not the M O for a cat. he may be what tried to drag a dead one to the fence. But your problem is most certainly an Owl. I have cats around too from time to time. But they never do this. It was always an owl.
 
There was a dead owl on the side of the road on Tuesday (it got hit by a car) and the birds are still dying. They are dying in the daytime as well, just not at night. And the cat was seen on top of the pen and the pheasants were going wild like something was after them. There have always been cats around but this is the first time one has been seen on the pen. And this is the first time I've had birds die like this. I think this one cat is doing it.
 
Down at pen checking on things. Caught cat in the act. There is a 2nd one helping. One on ground gets birds wound up and 2nd is on top of pen to grab through net. :mad:
 
Guess there is a first time for everything. My gut tells me the owl was murdered and tossed on the road to make it look like an accident.:D Now was it the butler, the made, the cornel or who?
 
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