Not Again!

I am upset.  The trail camera I got to catch an image of our predator is not working.  I thought it was something I might have done, but my waterproof camera has condensation in it, the screen just has snow on it, it doesn't shut down and you can't access the menu.  When my husband set it up, he put fresh batteries in it that should have lasted a couple of months...they lasted four days.  We have had another rooster killed too.  There were files on the card, all they showed was black snow looking stuff on the screen...all of them.  I had been putting up the chickens, the rooster that died was a special needs rooster...he was knock kneed and had what appeared to be a dislocated toe.  Not sure how he ended up like that, but I had separated him because of his issues.  I put him in a pen with my original batch of chickens, but he stayed in a chicken tractor by himself at night, so my rooster Mr. Poofy Face wouldn't pick on him.  When he was in the Rooster House they pecked on him so much he had no more feathers on the back of his head.  I figured him against one rooster would be better, he had more of a chance to get away from him in that pen.

My husband looked for him, walked around the pen and figured he had gone to the back of the chicken tractor.  The chicken tractor had a tarp on it, so you have to squat down to see into it.  It rained all day today, and it was really cold...I did not check to make sure there were no holes in the chicken tractor wire, if the predator dug under, it would be hard to tell with all the puddles.  I had spread pine needles all over in the pen so the chickens would have something to walk on besides mud...didn't see any predator tracks.  I found the rooster under a tarp that covers a large dog kennel that some of the chickens stay in at night...I could see his legs sticking out from under it.  When I pulled him out from under the tarp and Inspected him for damage, he was missing his head, neck and part of his breast.  The other chickens and duck that were killed, appeared to be killed in one location and taken to another based on piles of feathers and blood found...there was no pile of feathers for this one.

I didn't let my chickens out of most of the coops today, only the chickens in kennel got let out, I am tired of finding dead animals...the count stands at 5 chickens and 1 duck.  I am having a few issues with roosters fighting because they are locked up all day.  One of my Cream Legbars had one of his waddles (red hangy down thing under his beak) torn badly a few days ago, I separated him and thought about trying to glue it or stitch it up, I just kept putting it off and even though it is still torn...I put him back in with the other chickens in the big coop.  The waddle section torn kind of curls down and hangs, but it scabbed over well, I may have to learn how to "dub" for future injuries like that.  I hope and pray he will be Ok, I looked and chicks at the hatchery of the Cream Legbars sell for $47.00 each, they are a rare breed and they lay blue eggs, that is why I got them...I have two roosters and four hens so I can breed more...I bought hatching eggs and raised them myself, the hens have only been laying a month and I haven't built my breeding pens yet.  The rooster that died last night was my Silver Laced Wyandotte, one that I purchased for breeding purposes...can't breed them now, well...not until I get a replacement.  I have a Gold Laced Wyandotte rooster, but that won't give me pure color...but it will make them sex-linked so I can tell males from females at hatch.

We have been getting a lot of rain, it puts a damper on my building projects...maybe tomorrow will be a better day?