Dominant hen mounting other hens...

[Wrenne]

I have five laying hens. The dominant hen who lays the largest egg (she is part polish and perhaps part BSL - she has a black and white speckled crown), was mounting the Wyandotte hen that lays the next largest egg. She was digging in on the back and pulling head feathers out. Our rooster died a little over a year ago, so as breeding time is coming on and it has been warm in Alabama, she is asserting dominance. But I just had the hens get back their feather in November and don’t want them all plucked by another hen. What can I do to stop her? She is definitely a hen not a roo.

 

[azygous]

What are the ingredients and their percentage of the feed these hens get, just out of curiosity?

Without a rooster, sometimes a dominant hen will do this. You may even hear her crow. If the feed is quite low in soy, you might try boosting it with another milled feed high in soy. This can dilute the effect of androgens in this hen's system and could lower her aggressive tendencies.

Or you might try an isolation pen within the run to contain this aggressive little sex fiend.

 

[Chickassan]

You can also add a little beer to the water, or treat her to a beakful or so straight.
Hops are a potent source of phytoestrogens too and protein to boot....and it sounds like she could just use a beer quite honestly.

 

[azygous]