I had a similar experience. A raven got zapped by a 22kV transformer outside my house. It caused a noise and a brief brownout so I went out to the street to see. The raven was half burnt and gasping for breath. It had a minute or two to live, tops.

Went to the shed and grabbed a shovel to euthenaise it. I thought I could dig into its neck and decapitate it instantly. Nope. Didn’t work. I ended up slapping it with a shovel while my neighbors watched.

They probably think I’m nuts.