Bully in the flock

[EaeMre]

We have a bully in the flock. All my hens are coming up on a year old, however we have noticed that one in particular is being picked on. She has lost almost all of her feathers on her back and her crown is gone. Another hen has a missing crown. I have separated the one hen, but she clearly misses her flock. Have narrowed it down to two we think are doing the bullying. Will this always continue? Will I be able to return the hen to the flock? Is my best bet just get rid of the bully? How do I fix this? They are in a very large coop and run also roam free in the day. HELP!

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

What are you feeding them?

 

[EaeMre]

They eat Layer Crumble and then any fruits or vegetables we give them as treats. They are free during the day so they find bugs and whatever they dig up. Why would that matter?

 

[OrganicFarmWife]

Feather eating is a sign of low protein. Mine free range too, but because it is winter the bug pop is down so I feed them meat once a week, something cheap (usually beef organ meat) on top of the grains and veggies. Maybe switch to pellets instead of crumbles and consider feeding the non layer feed (with higher protein)