birds picking feathers - each one teach one?

[gingerpeach22]

I notice that when a bird decides to jerk feathers out of another's neck, that bird submits. I want it to kick the stuffings out of the perpetrator, darn it. I think they learn it from each other because there are a number of birds doing this - that and picking/pecking around the tail. Then there is pink skin showing which seems to attract pecks as they walk around. I'm so tired of catching birds, putting on pick-no-more lotion which lasts a day and then trying to catch the same birds the next day. If it were a single bird, I could put peepers on it. I did identify one and put peepers on her. Again. Please chime in on this topic.

 

[Judy]

Have you read the threads linked on the FAQ page? Usually it's too little protein, too little space, boredom, or some combination. If there's one bully, isolating him for a week or so will often stop bullying, or so I've read; they return at the bottom of the pecking order.

Some people find this behavior nearly impossible to stop, once established, despite trying a pile of suggestions.