PLEASE HELP! Bullying and possible infection!

[ChickInnMama]

I have had posts where I didn’t get a response so pardon my all caps… I just wanted to make sure it got seen .
I have a sweet hen named Elliott that is being picked on by our two biggest hens (who are kinda mean to everyone and I’m about ready to rehome them, but they go after her the most). I thought at first that she had an infection, but now I’m wondering if it’s from being pecked? Though maybe it’s both? I’ve been treating it with Veterciyn Plus, I know the one I have is not just for chickens but I figured it had the same ingredients and I already had this one. Can anyone tell me what they think it is and how to treat it? For right now I have her separated in a little dog crate where she can still get to the grass and she has her own water and food. I can’t keep her separate forever though so I’m not sure what to do about the bullying other than get rid of those two chickens… any ideas? I do have one idea of when it’s happening most, if I’m not up before it gets light out and open their coop into their run I think that’s when most of this is happening and unfortunately I’ve been having lingering issues since I got the flu and covid back to back over 2 months ago and getting up at 5 or 5:30 like I used to just hasn’t been happening. So I’m considering leaving their coop door open so they can just get out when they get up in the morning… the run is fully locked and secure. Does anyone else do this? I do take out their food and water every night though and I don’t plan to change that because I don’t want critters coming around for it and so far we’ve been good on that. Thank you for any thoughts! I’ll post a picture of their run and coop too so maybe someone can let me know if they think it’s ok to leave the door to the coop open to see if that helps thank you so much!! Also, I attached 4 pictures of Elliott, 2 were taken just a 3 mornings ago to today, it’s progressed a lot in just a few days.

 

[SmiYa0126]

It looks like fowl pox, dry form. Something is wrong with her eye though. Did she have an eye injury? Is he favoring it at all?

@Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive @azygous fowl pox?

 

[ChickInnMama]

She doesn’t seem to favor it at all, but I do think she has an injury to her eye, I noticed around her other eye this morning there were small drops of blood where it looked like they pecked at her. I’m not sure how to treat that? For fowl pox will the vetericyn work? Thank you for your reply!

 

[SmiYa0126]

Could that be pecking her pox spots? Vetricyn is an anti inflammatory, it will help. You can also boost their immunity with nutri drench. Can you give some egg yolk to the bullied hen?

 

[WIchickMama]

Can you separate the bullies and leave the hen out with the rest?

I personally do not keep the coop door open, despite having a secure run. I just don't want anything to bother my girls-no mice or anything.

 

[ChickInnMama]

Could that be pecking her pox spots? Vetricyn is an anti inflammatory, it will help. You can also boost their immunity with nutri drench. Can you give some egg yolk to the bullied hen?

I can definitely give her some egg yolk! I cook it first right? And I’ll look up nutri drench, can I get that at Tractor Supply?

 

[ChickInnMama]

Can you separate the bullies and leave the hen out with the rest?

I personally do not keep the coop door open, despite having a secure run. I just don't want anything to bother my girls-no mice or anything.

I should wait until her fowl pox heals up to put her back with the other hens? But then yes, I will find a way to leave her with the other hens and I’ll have to figure something else out for the other 2. I have the same thoughts on leaving my coop open and that’s why I haven’t done it, I don’t even want mice. Thank you for your reply!

 

[SmiYa0126]

You can leave it raw, she'll suck it down, yum yum!

 

[ChickInnMama]

You can leave it raw, she'll suck it down, yum yum!

Oh awesome! I’ll give her some now! Thank you

 

[azygous]

@SmiYa0126 has give you some great guidance. Treating the eye with the Veterycin is good. I'd keep up with that, as the lesions around the eye are really the main concern with her pox. If you have a lot of mosquitoes, it's very likely it's pox.

As for the bullying, there is help for that without rehoming the two baddies. Here's my article on treating the victim of bullying so they will learn to stand up to the bullies. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/chicken-bully-chicken-victim-a-two-sided-issue.73923/ This system works in almost every case.

Your run might need modification. Additional perches so the victim can have escapes helps. Expanding the run may be necessary. Minimum of ten square feet per chicken is required to minimize aggression.

As to leaving the coop open into a secure run, there is no reason not to as long as the run is covered and locked so predators can't gain entry. Mice will find their way in, no matter what. Mice run wild in my runs and coops at night, I find their foot prints. The chickens are not upset in the least with this mini-rodent nightly partying. I even had a pack rat try to construct a nest each night in a nest box, and the chickens were not bothered in the least by it. I was, though, and succeeded finally in trapping the thing.