[mambo]

Prepare yourselves folks, this is very nasty!

In the inside shed of my avairy I had two elderly love birds who lived in harmony together for many years. Both had disabilities and could not fly well so were housed in a large cage.

Both were fine at 10.00am this morning when my son checked on them. However a few minutes ago my husband found both dead. One had what appeared to be a large bite in the back of it's head and the other's head was completely detached. Neither had any other mark on it's body

What could have happened?  The spaces between the bars are 3mm, there was no chewing on the cage. Could a rat have got in through there? A mouse certainly could, but would they do this? I even thought about a weasel. Could the birds have gone mad and killed each other?
Does any one have any ideas? I'm now really worried about the birds in the outside avairy and the chooks in the coup if I have an unidentified predator on the loose.


Mambo

[agapanthus]

That is awful and very distressing!! Something similar happened to me many year ago. There were no rats about, but I definitely know there were mice :?  :? That was the only thing I could put it down to.
I hope you discover the culprit very soon.

[kooringa]

I know rats are very canny and can get through the smallest hole - did you have a concrete floor in the aviary?  

If not they can get in that way

So sorry to hear that - it is horrible thing to have happened

[Bodger]

I once lost a full nest of canarys to a weasel. They can get through a mouse sized hole. On this occasion they pulled the birds out through the small hole that you put the water feeder through and you could see a ring of feathers around the wire where they'd pulled them out of the cage.
They are much smaller than stoats but just as blood thirsty. All the weasel family, large or small, tend to go for the head or neck when they both kill and start to eat.

[mambo]

Thanks for your replies,

We have a concrete floor in the avairy. We've checked the walls, floors and door of the shed it adjoins to , it has no holes gaps or signs of chewing. My first thought was rats, could they get through a 3mm gap? and would they just kill in that way without attempting to eat their pray?

Mambo

[mambo]

Thanks Bodger,

How would I know if I had a weasel? I thought they were quite rare. Our place is very close to open fields and farm land. Could one have just come on a visit or are they quite likely to set up residence!

I've had the avairy for 10 years and have never had this sort of thing happen before.

Mambo

[dangolding]

Definitely a stoat (or a very close relative)

Over the past few years we've lost more than our fair share - they drink the blood and are not interested in the meat.

They can also climb and squeeze under the smallest of small gaps

Last year, we lost 28 birds to a stoat so you do need to be very vigilant and double and triple check your defences