Chicken is being picked on? And has a bruised neck help!

[Pebbles25]

I have a 1 year old Silver laced polish bantam hen. I think she hatched April last year. I suddenly noticed yesterday that she is missing a lot of feathers. She is probably molting but she has a bare patch on her neck that is a blueish colour. She has lost all of her tail feathers. I have a cream legbar cockerel that is almost 5 months and he does peck them quite a bit. I think a few of the older hens and my cream legbar cockerel are picking on her. She seems to be eating fine, she does like to jump in the treadle feed to eat, while the big birds keep it open. Before she started molting she had quite a bit of attitude, are they just picking on her as she’s losing feathers? She seems to be pooping fine. How can I help her recover quickly? She has no visible injuries except for the bruising on her neck.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Molting birds will feel under the weather, and chickens will pick on anyone that shows signs of weakness. Polish, in particular, tend to be targets with their puffy heads. Do you keep the feathers trimmed around her eyes to help her see?

How do you keep your birds? Are they free ranged or enclosed? Chickens that are penned needs lots of room to navigate around each other, as well as things to jump on, over, and around to evade the more aggressive birds. Multiple feed and water stations are helpful.

When you say the cockerel is pecking her, does this happen when he's mating? If so, a chicken saddle will help prevent further injury while she heals up underneath.