coolcanoechic,
So very sorry for your loss. Welcome to BYC, wish it was under better circumstances. You can search the "User List" above, and look for folks in your state. Lessons learned the hard way are usually remembered well.
scratch'n'peck :
I think if he had something caught in his throat he would be actually stretching his neck forward and opening his mouth repeatedly. That is what the poor hen who was suspected of having gape worm was doing. Unfortunately she did turn out to have a tumor.
To keep him...
I do find it strange that this happened to a flock of 50+. I've seen it with my group of ~18 though. I like to call it the triple whammy. In a molt, daylight hours shortening, and colder temps (at least for Illinois). If I hadn't had it happen for the third year in a row, I wouldn't believe it...
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Yeah, everyone knows that eggs are free if you own chickens, right!! I don't think so...some folks just amaze me. I get $2.50 - $3.00 a dozen and figure I just about break even.
Hawks are Federally Protected. You can't do anything that would cause harm or death to them. They seem to be discouraged if you place line or cord acrossed an enclosure, but I don't know what you'd do for an entire yard. Depending on the size of the hawk, they will generally not go after a full...
So your looking to spend $880 on that coop. It's pretty costly, and small, too small for 7 regular size birds. With minimals skills, or assistance you could probably build something sturdier that would cost less. Initially, I can't think of anything needed for your list that wasn't already...
Wow! I agree to make sure she's separated so others won't peck at the wound. Try to keep it clean and look for signs of infection. As long as
she's eating and drinking I think she'll be fine. I've seen worse heal up just fine.
I was going through way more feed, before switching to pellets. Seems like they get more satisfied with the pellets, thus cutting my overall costs. Right now mine are almost all going thro a molt, so egg production is way down.
I've had a number of buff orpington's over the years. Mine are all regular layers. Only had one go broody, when she was about 1 year old. Thought I'd have a problem breaking the broodiness, but all I did was remove the unhatched eggs and she stopped. I love my BO's and as long as I have...