Berk strikes again!

Sigh... there is another chicken in the sick ward.

Earlier I was standing on the porch looking out over the pasture as the alpaca girls were grazing over on the shady end of the pasture. One of the girls, Celtie, went loping off to the barn to get some water. As she neared the barn, Berk, our male Anatolian Shepard, jumped at her and growled! Something that is very bad for him to do and that I have not seen him do before. It stopped Celtie in her tracks as she had not known Berk to act this way either. I quickly slid my boots on and went down to the barn.

What I found was my little Hill Roamer hen (yes the mate to the stuck chicken a few days ago) lying down near the barn with her backside all wet and feathers missing. Obviously Berk was playing with her earlier but when Celtie had come down to the barn I could clearly see Berk laying near the barn and he had not been chewing on anything. So, was Berk now protecting his snack from Celtie OR was he protecting the hurt chicken from Celtie? I may never know for sure at this point.

Anyway, I scooped up "Cookie", the name I have given the little hen, and gave her a quick once over before heading to the chicken coop with her. I could see right away that she had a good-sized wound on her back behind her right wing. The feathers were missing and there was a hole through the skin so I could see the breast meat clearly. Otherwise she looked alert just a bit scruffy. I put her in the brooder pen with some medicated water and food. I also treated her wound with a topical antibiotic. When I left her she lay right where I placed her.

We will have to see how she does over night. Meanwhile... what do to about Berk?