How to I keep my Pekin female from pecking my hens?????

[akmcgrory]

I have a 3 month old Pekin female who has always stood her own in the coop with the 7 month old hens. They get along great. EXCEPT....I have recently noticed that this same Pekin female steals their feathers and eats them! My BR has a bald spot on her back where her wings meet. I yell at Petey (we thought she was a boy) when she pulls at their feathers during their dustbaths and she stops, but we are not always home. I put Vaseline on the spot to discourage further pecking. She hasn't missed a day of egg laying and uckseems no worse for the wear. Not sure what to do. Separating them is not an option and the duck seems to be best friends with the "head hen". What to do?

 

[Hunter0704]

Are they all confined in a run? How large is it? Do they free range at all? Winter is boredom for chickens, ducks, and geese. I give my chickens and ducks green treats a few times a week, plus they have a 10 x 20 area to walk around in during the day, away from the run. Hang some broccoli in the run; chop up some lettuce and tomatoes...anything to give them something to do other than picking. If boredom isn't the problem, you will need to separate the duck from the chickens, or you will end up losing some chickens. Open sores on chickens can get bugs in them, get infected, and eventually kill the chicken. Do you have a chicken saddle? Maybe try that too, at least until the chicken's bare spots are healed. I've seen some people say they give the abuser a time out for a few days in an area where the abuser can see the others, but not pick on them. Then reintroduce and see if problem still exists. Hope things get better for the BR.

Do you have a dog kennel you could put the duck in for a time out? You could keep it in the coop or run along with the other chickens.???????