Pecked Heads .-.

[-MochiPie-]

My flock is full of 17 chickens currently. 11 of them are Polish. (Silver laced, White, and Blue) And so far, 6 are roosters. The Polish are about 19 weeks, and we are discovering that many of them have been hiding their true colors! We knew we had at least 3-4. But now we have At Least 6. The other 6 chickens of the 17 are RIR’s. All chickens are super sweet, expect for the fact that the RIR’s keep pecking the Polish’s heads bald! While they seem to be okay, it is quite annoying. One Polish got stuck between a wall and a cage we have in there for injured chickens to recover. (It’s a huge dog cage) Her head was pecked so bad, it looked like minced meat! (She has recovered nicely) One RIR in particular, the one in my profile pic, is especially bad about doing this. Any advice for this to quit? The photo is a very small example of it, I don’t have any other photos atm.

 

[Vickischics]

Well, I have first hand knowledge.
My RIR beat my White Crested Black Polish to near death. Scalped her, tore the side of her face up, tore her neck down to the muscle with visible tendons, tore her shoulders and back down to the muscle. I luckily found her lying in a pool of blood. Gave her chest compressions and blew into her beak. It was not pretty.
It took 8 weeks to recover.
I know exactly which RIR's did it as they had blood on their beaks. One starts and the others gang up too. No escape for the poor girl.
RIR are known to be "Mean". The Polish Head dress is an attraction and they have poor visual acuity because of the head feathers. Trimming their feathers around the eyes will help but, it will Not stop the bullies. In fact, it will become worse until they kill them one by one.
Sad but,, factual truth.
I was forced to build a separate coop and an enclosed run for my Polish Girls that are also 19 weeks old.
The "Big Girls" come over to the run and the Polish Girls Fluff up to fight back and run around like crazy.
It's as if they know. The RIR push their heads via the fence everyday to get them. The RIR free run during day and get locked up at night.
I hope you protect your Polish Girls from the mean girls asap because it is known to have a sad ending.
This is a true story of mine and many others have similar ones from RIR.
I can PM pictures if you want but they are graphic.
Her name was "Punkie" but after everything she went through, her new name is "The Iron Maiden".
It's a pure miracle she survived.

 

[-MochiPie-]

Well, I have first hand knowledge.
My RIR beat my White Crested Black Polish to near death. Scalped her, tore the side of her face up, tore her neck down to the muscle with visible tendons, tore her shoulders and back down to the muscle. I luckily found her lying in a pool of blood. Gave her chest compressions and blew into her beak. It was not pretty.
It took 8 weeks to recover.
I know exactly which RIR's did it as they had blood on their beaks. One starts and the others gang up too. No escape for the poor girl.
RIR are known to be "Mean". The Polish Head dress is an attraction and they have poor visual acuity because of the head feathers. Trimming their feathers around the eyes will help but, it will Not stop the bullies. In fact, it will become worse until they kill them one by one.
Sad but,, factual truth.
I was forced to build a separate coop and an enclosed run for my Polish Girls that are also 19 weeks old.
The "Big Girls" come over to the run and the Polish Girls Fluff up to fight back and run around like crazy.
It's as if they know. The RIR push their heads via the fence everyday to get them. The RIR free run during day and get locked up at night.
I hope you protect your Polish Girls from the mean girls asap because it is known to have a sad ending.
This is a true story of mine and many others have similar ones from RIR.
I can PM pictures if you want but they are graphic.
Her name was "Punkie" but after everything she went through, her new name is "The Iron Maiden".
It's a pure miracle she survived.

Wow- thats awful! Fortunately, they haven’t taken it that far. Our RIR’s are super nice (To people). They are considerably nice to the Polish, but the heads have been an issue. Lately it has seemed to decrease. We do have the 6 roosters, which I’m hoping will sort of keep them in line as they mature further. They have also pecked at their tails before. I really don’t think my Dad would build a separate run for them. They are usually fine. Idk. I think it’s also an issue with the fact that the RIR’s are older by a few weeks. Also, I think I’m good on the photos. It would probably make me too sad- .-.

 

[Vickischics]

Wow- thats awful! Fortunately, they haven’t taken it that far. Our RIR’s are super nice (To people). They are considerably nice to the Polish, but the heads have been an issue. Lately it has seemed to decrease. We do have the 6 roosters, which I’m hoping will sort of keep them in line as they mature further. They have also pecked at their tails before. I really don’t think my Dad would build a separate run for them. They are usually fine. Idk. I think it’s also an issue with the fact that the RIR’s are older by a few weeks. Also, I think I’m good on the photos. It would probably make me too sad- .-.

Yes, the photos would make you sad. But, its a reality.
My RIR are awesome to me too.
I carry them too & preen them.
The Polish girls are of different personality.
How about sectioning off a part of the run?
If thats not do-able, put many different hide outs for them to run into.
You will have to teach them. The trick is making it just big enough for your Polish but too small for the RIR to run into.
Don't set up anywhere that will potentially trap the Polish when two RIR gang up on them.
Think about how you would feel if someone was Bullying you all day and you can't just relax. Constantly being on guard.
Use child rounded scissors and trim the head feathers to allow a full vision field. Lots of hiding and running places. Be creative. Remove someone for a few hours a day or an hour a day a couple times to give the Polish girls a break.
This will be your best bet because it will not go away. Protect your Polish girls. If it continues, consider giving them away.
I'll take your Polish girls if the Bullying gets worse and you can't keep them.
Good luck.
Send pictures of your girls. I love Polish Girls.