Help! Girls are getting pecked and it's getting cold!

[aart]

Ditto on the space issues.

How old are these birds and did they all grow up together?
What and how exactly are you feeding?

Were they all together during their exile?
Were there crowding issues there?
How long have they been back 'home'?

Beware of too many fresh grass clippings, can clog them up on one end and/or the other.

 

[Cooley gypsum]

[quote name=A"aart" url="/t/1142478/help-girls-are-getting-pecked-and-its-getting-cold/10#post_17772702"]Ditto on the space issues.

How old are these birds and did they all grow up together?
What and how exactly are you feeding?

Were they all together during their exile?
Were there crowding issues there? 
How long have they been back 'home'?

Beware of too many fresh grass clippings, can clog them up on one end and/or the other. 
[/quote]

They are 7 months and they grew up together. They were in exile together as well... the space they were in during exile was a bit tight. They've been home for 2 weeks now.

We feed them layer feed and have it available all day inside the coop. 23 are considering putting another food container outside for the winter.

They are laying consistently so we don't know if feather repair food is a good idea? When do chickens molt? All their feather issues are in the same spot.

I did order peepers last night. Maybe that will help?

 

[aart]

Quote: The feather repair food is a bit of a scam, higher protein but too much calcium for non layers.
So it might help with your situation.....but broken or bitten feathers are not going to regrow until after a molt...tho the higher protein may help if they are eating feathers for lack of protein.

More space would definitely help the most........but it could also just be a bad habit by now or an overly aggressive bird.

Sorry, no finite cause/solution.

 

[Cooley gypsum]

 

[Cooley gypsum]

I put a bag of leaves in the run and they are having a blast! Thank you so much for all your advice! It's amazing how helpful this community is!

 

[mobius]

Really nice setup! Do they ever get out of the run to free-range? You can try separating the offender by putting her in a crate with food and water for a (very ) few days...I have read that this may re-establish the pecking order sufficiently... or block off a small area in coop/run just for her so she is in contact with the others but can't get at them...the very small area they were in (when things were getting sorted)
may have started the pecking?