Does this look like peeper related injury or infection?

sophiehatter1057

Chirping
Apr 17, 2025
105
90
88
Upsate SC
Hi all, first a disclaimer:

I know how much dislike many people have for pinless peepers, and I mostly agree. But they are my absolute last resort aside from offloading this hen. She's been a brutal feather pecker from a week or two old. She's getting 24% protein. The coop is 200 square feet for 9 birds. The run is 1/8th of an acre. I've tried pecking/swatting her when she's caught in the act. I've tried isolating her. I even tried peepers on for a while, then off again. She just won't quit injuring the other hens. Peepers are the only way I can see keeping her (and when they are on, peace is miraculously restored to the flock).

With that said, after removing peepers and reapplying them, I'm concerned about two things:

1) is the redness here (at the base of the beak parallel to her eye) somewhat normal to see a day after reapplying peepers, or could this be the beginning of infection? If the latter, how can I treat? (FWIW I don't see that redness at all on the other side)

2) On the side showing in the photos, I feel like we can see a wide open nostril, with the tab/peg of the peeper much further down towards the tip of the beak. But the peepers absolutely won't budge or even wiggle...that should mean that I've got them in the nostrils properly, right?

Thank you!

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