Today I noticed one of my Speckled Sussex was lagging behind the others off by herself. Usually she is with the other SS. She kept her distance from the others on the several occasions I observed this afternoon, so I was concerned she might be sick. Tonight I went to check on them after they'd gone to bed for the night, and I found her huddled in the corner on the floor instead of up on the roost bar. I set up the separate coop with food and water for her in case she was ill, but when I picked her up to move her, I observed a very deep wound on the back of her neck. I'm pretty sure it's not survivable. It's cold tonight and I didn't want to get her wet by cleaning it, so I just glopped on some antibiotic ointment. My husband suggested I should put her out of her misery, but I didn't have the heart/stomach. I've never had to kill an animal before. The injury could've been from my cat, but I think he would've finished the job. So I'm thinking this was from persistent pecking from other chickens. She's the low bird on the totem pole and I've observed her getting pecked on several occasions by one of my ISA browns. I just can't believe I didn't notice the wound sooner. I was just handling her yesterday to do a follow up inspection after a lice infestation earlier this month. She seemed fine up until today.