Our flock are 18 months old. Raised them from chicks and we have 2 Buff Orps and 5 white leg horns. Now they appear to be pecking on one of the Buffs. Feathers on back of neck and underbelly have been pulled out. We now have separated the buff in to our garage trying to figure out what to do next.
Pulling the underlings out is generally not the best way to prevent picking. This just puts them even lower on the pecking order, if that were possible. If anything, i would remove the highest ranking one or two leghorns. I'm sure that the buffs are at the bottom of that totem pole, since they generally are. You might also try spraying the bare places with some blue kote product (it will stain, but...) it will help keep the others off of them for a bit and give them a small chance to recover.
