Around 3pm today DH let the girls out and took off into the woods to go hunting. I came home from work around 4:30pm said Howdy to the girls, tossed a couple cups of BOSS out for them then came inside to warm up a bit. When it started to get dark I went outside to lock them up and noticed Pip, our runt EE looked like she had a bald spot on her head so I snatched her up to take a look. (the battery in my camera is dead so I'll have to wait to juice it up to show a pic) There was a perfect line scratched out from one ear to the other (top of her head) little head feathers missing, and one of her eyes was pretty bloody. There's nothing she could of caught herself on in the run and the girls rarely fight since the pecking order has been established. (they're pushing 9 months) The only thing I could think of is maybe a hawk swooped down and didn't have a good enough grab on her to take her away. I've cleaned her up and she's resting now away from the others until she heals. No more unsupervised outings for them until I figure this out
It does sound like that...I am so sorry to hear it. I am glad she managed to get away, most of the time they are not that lucky once the hawk/eagle/owl gets them in sight and has a good landing set for them....Keep us posted.
