A protein deficiency? Feather picking and bleeding. New to this problem.

[erocswife]

I need some advice from you all. I have 9 chickens - all the same age 15 mo. - 4 different breeds. They have all been together from the beginning.
My problem is that one chicken is being pecked horribly!! She has a hole a little smaller than a dime on her back and it has been bloody. As soon as I noticed the wound, I let her out of my run. And now when she is not been pecked, she is being held down and the others are picking the feathers off her neck. I cannot stand to see this happen, so she pretty much stays out of the coop/run to free range ALL DAY.
I have read about this topic on this site and have tried to beef up the amount of protein that I am giving all of the chickens. I am wondering if I caused this problem by offering too many scraps and snacks. All of my chickens have been bare backed and bare bottomed for months. I thought that their moult was taking an extra long time - I am talking November until now for some.
I am leaving to go on vacation for 10 days in about 2 weeks and don't want the caretakers to come over and find a dead chicken. What can I do now that will help their situation?
Thank you for your help in advance. These are my first chickens and I really don't want to see any of them die from this.

 

[winekntrychicks]

My flock has feather picking issues as well. Once it gets started it pretty hard to break. I read about this on forums as well. Mine never made each bloody, just ugly and bare necked. The only thing that helps for me is to let them free range from morning til dusk. They get bored in the coop and run. So now I am trading feather picking for Hawks and the neighbors dogs that get out frequently. We live on three acres that is not properly fenced for chickens to free range or keep predators out. We have a beautiful coop and run fully enclosed top to bottom with hardware cloth but the girls don't appreciate it. They still get bored. You could always try "flock block" that helps. Its a block of seed and molasses . I have also tried black sunflower seed. Works for a few min. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer. As for the hawks found something that works to keep them out of the areas where the girls flock and that is Helium mylar balloons on fishing wire strategically placed. They last about two weeks then I refill them with helium from the party store. As for the neighbors dogs, I warned the neighbor next time I see one of his dogs near my coops its a dead dog buts that's another story. California has a leash law which states any dog caught worrying livestock (which chickens are considered) can be shot on the spot. No questions. For anyone reading this who has a problem with that I will say, that if one of the girls wanders off the property then I would not fault the dog owner but myself. Having said all of that chicken keeping has its rewards but worry and heartache too. My girls are my pets. Whew sorry 'bout the rant.