Betty is gone!

[1wanda1]

Hi yall,Betty, Butter, Butter, Lady GaGa and Henny Penny are the names of my hens. Betty was different looking from the other 4 and a bit bigger. She started laying and that is when everything went south. she was the only one laying and what beauties. It seemed like all of a sudden Betty became aggressive and began to peck the other 4. Henny Penny was the littlest and got it the most. When i saw what was happening i took betty to live somewhere else. Betty is gone and I have No eggs at all. and the hen she pecked at has removed all her feathers around where Betty had pecked. I can see right in her ear holes and i know what chicken skin looks like now. Henny Penny cant seem to stop plucking her own feathers. Will they grow back? its starting to get cold do i worry about her exposed skin? will they ever lay eggs? any advice welcome. Wanda ps i hate typing

 

[earlybird10842]

Hi yall,Betty, Butter, Butter, Lady GaGa and Henny Penny are the names of my hens. Betty was different looking from the other 4 and a bit bigger. She started laying and that is when everything went south. she was the only one laying and what beauties. It seemed like all of a sudden Betty became aggressive and began to peck the other 4. Henny Penny was the littlest and got it the most. When i saw what was happening i took betty to live somewhere else. Betty is gone and I have No eggs at all. and the hen she pecked at has removed all her feathers around where Betty had pecked. I can see right in her ear holes and i know what chicken skin looks like now. Henny Penny cant seem to stop plucking her own feathers. Will they grow back? its starting to get cold do i worry about her exposed skin? will they ever lay eggs? any advice welcome. Wanda ps i hate typing

Henny Penny may be molting. I wouldn't worry unless she's bleeding anywhere. It will grow back. Just make sure the others are not pecking her as well.
It sounds like the other hens are younger then Betty and not ready to lay. Do you know how old they are? Are their combs red or pink? Be sure to look around the coop, run, and free-ranging areas for eggs--sometimes pullets don't lay in the nestboxes, especially in the first few weeks of laying. Consider using artificial lighting in the coop if it is dark a lot of the time.
Be patient, search around the coop, and I'm sure the other girls will start to lay eventually!