Pecking pretty bad

[Fancypants1]

Need some advice. I have a 7 month old Egyptian Fayoumi who I love dearly and she is a GREAT layer. The only problem is she is a big bully and has pecked all the feathers off of one of my polish girls. Her head is almost bald and the skin is looking a little green. I took the polish out of the run, cleaned her head and added some Neosporin the other day. I isolated her to the basement. Well I went out to let the girls out to the run the next day and the EF started to peck another of my polish’s heads. So I now have her in the basement and the pecked polish back in the run/coop.

I am not sure what to do. I had this problem in the late summer and isolated the EF for a few weeks and once she got back in with the rest things calmed down until now. It’s not diet, boredom or space; she is just a mean bird. I noticed she started to go after the other birds too.

I got the pinless peepers a while back but did not put them on her since isolating her did the trick last time (until now). Should I try to get them on her? I have heard good things and bad things about them. My other option is to give her a way to someone that free ranges since this breed does not like to be confined.

As for the polish should I take her to a vet since the wound is looking pretty bad? It’s not bleeding but the skin looks a little green. She really did a number on her. Is the vet going to do anything different from what I did? Add Neosporin and send me home?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I would treat her at home. Rinse the wound with a saline solution, then betadine (organic iodine) then use the eye type Neosporin(triple antibiotic ointment). It melts at body temperature so will get down into the wounds.

IMHO, Silkies and Fayoumis are not good flock mates. Silkies are calm, docile, slow and poor sighted making them very vulnerable to bullying and pecking.
Fayoumis, on the other hand, are lively to the point of being wild and resist confinement.
What is your housing situation for your birds? Are they allowed to free range? I would consider separate housing or house the silkies and let the fayoumi range.

Another thing to consider is protein. Along with too close confinement, protein intake is often related to pecking.

What makes up their total feed intake?

 

[Fancypants1]

I am just finishing up a bag of grower/finisher even though they have been laying since October. I bought a 50 lb bag couple of days before they all started laying (go figure). So I have not switched them over to layer feed yet. Was going to get some today. They get fresh fruit and veggies everyday along with any scrapes we might have.

When she started to peck the first time we added some more space to the run and isolated her for a couple weeks. Things were fine until this past week. Yesterday she even went after our Buff Brahma who is 2x the size of her. I let them free range for a little while yesterday and she just ran after them even out of the run. It's cold in MA so I do not let them free range as much as I would like since it's dark when we get home and I am not around to watch them during the day. Here is a couple pictures of the coop/run

 

[ChickenCanoe]

What is the protein percentage of the grower/finisher? Grower is usually about 18%, finisher is usually about 15%.
Chicken feed is intended to be a complete ration. Except for varying amounts of calcium and protein. I'd get at least an 18% protein feed and cut out all other things for a while to see if that helps. You can freeze your scraps for a while. You can also put your finisher somewhere cool for now so it will keep.
Since they're laying and not on layer feed, just make sure you supply oyster shell in a separate container.
IMHO, slow breeds like silkies and brahmas would be sitting ducks in that pen with an overly active, flighty bird like a fayoumi.

 

[Fancypants1]

This is the info Poultry Grower / Finisher Crumblet

Crude Protein (Min) 15 %
Crude Fat (Min) 3 %
Crude Fiber (Max) 4 %
Calcium (Min) 0.85 %
Calcium (Max) 1.05 %
Phosphorus (Min) 0.6 %
Lysine (Min) 0.6 %
Methionine (Min) 0.35 %
Salt (Min) 0.25 %
Salt (Max) 0.35 %​

I do have shells for them and grit I toss in the run every few days.

 

[Fancypants1]

I might have found a home for the EF. I know she needs to be a free range bird as she is very active and just paces back and forth in the run. I need to protect my other girls. It's going to break my heart but I know it's what she needs. The thing with hatchery choices is that they don't know what kind of set up you have laid out for them.

 

[Fancypants1]

I did find a farm for my EF to go to. Should I move the wounded chicken back into isolation until her head gets better??? Why the green coloring on her head??

 

[ChickenCanoe]

So your finisher is 15% which is what it normally is but intended for the last couple weeks for broilers or in laying breeds, maturing cockerels and pullets. Once they start laying, they need a bit more. Laying an egg a day uses up a lot of protein and that % or two makes a big difference.
If you could find some 20% feed, you could mix it half and half. Recovering from a wound and growing feathers would benefit from protein too.

I'm glad you found an appropriate place for her. Hopefully she'll fit in.
I wanted fayoumis for a long time but even though I free range, I still don't think I could manage them with 6 flocks of Penedesencas on a smallish property.

The green is possible infection or just her skin color. Silkies are supposed to have black skin. Feel it to see if it's hot which would indicate infection.
You could take her temperature. I think it's supposed to be about 103.

It doesn't hurt to put injured and sick birds in a warmer place, about 70F.

 

[Fancypants1]

Thanks for the tip on the feed and the infection. I will put her back in once the EF is re-homed. I will keep cleaning it and adding Neosporin on every few days.

She is such a striking breed but just not a good fit for confined living arragniments.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

They are a nice breed for a free range situation. What attracted me to them is the fact that they're supposed to be bullet proof from a disease perspective.
But along the same lines. Free range birds on good forage, tend to be much healthier.