I have previously posted about my finches disappearing; I could only conclude that they were stolen. I have since found a pile of body parts outside the aviary, where something has dragged them and eaten their bodies, ripped their wings off, and scalped them - only the softer parts have been eaten. The only way into this aviary was possibly by pushing some foam corrugated-iron filler aside, then dragging the birds back through. After setting heaps of traps, I have only caught 2 mice. About a week later, more birds started disappearing from another aviary; a few each or every second day/night; again, the only way I can see something could get in is about a 10mm gap around some foam filler. These birds were all left in the aviary, with chests eaten.
My question - could mice be doing this amount of damage? about 20 birds went missing overnight from the first aviary - seems a lot for a mouse/mice to eat, but I haven't seen any sign of rats. Could it be anything else? I thought butcher birds, but the pile of bodies was found in the eaves of my shed a couple of feet from my aviary, with the only way in being through the gaps in corrugated iron.
Any thought would again be appreciated
I have taken all birds from these aviaries until I find the cause. Luckily, my other 3 aviaries are unaffected so far.
