How to stop aggressive pecking?

[mygerbilprince]

My littlest hen, Fern, is unfortunately at the bottom at the hierarchy of my coop despite being the most lovable and friendly! She has a huge bald spot on her back where her feathers have been picked clean off. The other hens are missing a few feathers in the same place but not to the same extent. We bought cream which is supposed to stop the others from pecking at her, but it only fights half the battle. It is called PICK-NO-MORE COVER-UP LOTION "Reduces Cannibalism" by Rooster Booster. It doesn't seem to be working to well... it stopped getting bigger (mainly because she ran out of feathers on her back) but its not healing and I worry about her getting cold since it is winter where I live; and we get COLD winters. Any advice to help her grow back her feathers will be greatly appreciated.

MY FLOCK: (this is also what I estimate their hierachy looks like)
Julian (Buff Orpington Rooster)
Ivy (Buff Orpington Hen)
Hibiscus (Buff Orpington Hen)
Fern (Buff Orpington Hen)

They are all 8 months old with a large hen house and semi-large run.

 

[BlueBaby]

Do you have any that are not missing any feather's on the back? The would be the one that is doing it. If the rooster did it, he need's more girl's then what you have.

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Do you mind sharing the measurements of your coop and run?
Space is a huge factor with this. If that's not an issue, I've noticed some people have tried "Pinless Peepers" but I haven't tried them personally on my birds. Your aggressive plucker may need a time out.

@3KillerBs @aart - These ladies are very knowledgeable in this area, amongst many other areas. Hopefully they'll chime in and help you figure this out
Also @NatJ has a lot of experience and knowledge to share on many topics

Edited again to clarify

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC. Where, in general, are you? Climate matters. You can put your general location into your profile so we can easily see it when you ask a question.

Please show us photos of your coop, your run, and your birds to help us diagnose the problem.

One likely possibility for a bare-backed hen is that she's the rooster's favorite, especially in a small flock where there aren't enough ladies to "spread the love". Additionally, since your birds are still very young -- a cockerel and 3 pullets -- it's quite likely that the boy's technique isn't very good yet.

If the bald spot is "rooster wear", which seems likely given that all the hens are showing such spots (photos will help), then you probably need to get some hen saddles/hen aprons, which come in a huge variety of styles and types. https://www.google.com/search?q=hen...VIQkIHHZh9DbUQ4lYoBHoECAEQJA&biw=1583&bih=775

I can't recommend any specific version because I haven't used them.

If it is bullying/picking the most likely issue is insufficient space because the makers of prefab coops wildly exaggerate the number of chickens their coops can hold -- basing the numbers on minimums for intensively-managed, commercial birds rather than appropriate figures for backyard flocks.

The Usual Guidelines

For each adult, standard-sized hen you need:

• 4 square feet in the coop (.37 square meters)
• 10 square feet in the run (.93 square meters),
• 1 linear foot of roost (.3 meters),
• 1/4 of a nest box,
• And 1 square foot (.09 square meters) of permanent, 24/7/365 ventilation, preferably located over the birds' heads when they're sitting on the roost.

4 hens

• 16 square feet in the coop. 4'x4' is the only really practical build for this given the common dimensions of lumber.
• 4 feet of roost
• 40 square feet in the run. 4'x10' or 5'x8'. 6'x6' is a bit too small, 6'x8' is more generous and easier to build than 5'x8'.
• 4 square feet of ventilation. A 2'x2' window is theoretically enough, but in practice doesn't create any air FLOW so better to spread the venting around (and even better to exceed the minimums, especially in warm climates).
• 2 nest boxes, to give the hens a choice

Again, photos and dimensions will help us help to better help you.

Unfortunately, the feathers are unlikely to grow back until after the birds' next molt. However, if there's no bleeding or injury, being barebacked from rooster wear tends to bother humans more than it bothers chickens.

 

[HuggsArizona]

My littlest hen, Fern, is unfortunately at the bottom at the hierarchy of my coop despite being the most lovable and friendly! She has a huge bald spot on her back where her feathers have been picked clean off. The other hens are missing a few feathers in the same place but not to the same extent. We bought cream which is supposed to stop the others from pecking at her, but it only fights half the battle. It is called PICK-NO-MORE COVER-UP LOTION "Reduces Cannibalism" by Rooster Booster. It doesn't seem to be working to well... it stopped getting bigger (mainly because she ran out of feathers on her back) but its not healing and I worry about her getting cold since it is winter where I live; and we get COLD winters. Any advice to help her grow back her feathers will be greatly appreciated.

MY FLOCK: (this is also what I estimate their hierachy looks like)
Julian (Buff Orpington Rooster)
Ivy (Buff Orpington Hen)
Hibiscus (Buff Orpington Hen)
Fern (Buff Orpington Hen)

They are all 8 months old with a large hen house and semi-large run.

I am having the same problem with my Amberlinks!! I have the original 2 isolated in separate dog crates within the coop. I come home tonight & one of my youngest has many of her feathers gone on her backside above her tail feathers. I had a problem before & finally had to get rid 2 of them after trying the aprons, BluKote (didn’t work btw ended up with bald purple chickens and tried the blinders. Which actually worked but noticed food wasn’t going down in the feeders so took them off thinking they weren’t eating. I was told to put on 30% protein feed. I even bought another addition for coop - its huge! They free range every night for 2 hrs.Just don’t understand why this nasty pecking is going. Last time they drew serious blood. only 7 hens. 3 Amberlinks, 1 Buff Orpington, 1 RIR, 2 Easter egger mixes ( my pretty girls who are now getting pecked!) Help!!!

 

[mygerbilprince]

Thanks for all the help! The other hens are missing a few feathers but not really noticeable without looking closely. Fern only bled a little when I visited them yesterday because Julian got a little to excited, that was the first time she ever bled. I've noticed Fern has started to run away from Julian and is a bit afraid to come mingle with him and the other hens. She is usually quite friendly. Getting rid of Julian is NOT an option but if we need more hens to balance out the ratio that would work better for me.

Their house is built by my grandfather, it is 8x8 and is around 6 feet tall. The run attached is the Omlet 6x6x6 feet Walk In Chicken Run and has a cover. Don't worry it's not a store bought rabbit hutch sized coop. We could expand the run if necessary, just not preferable, but whatever it takes to help them. We let them free roam a bit in the summer, but only for 20 minutes or so because there are lots of predators in the area.

I live in an area with a humid continental climate, (cold winters with heavy snowfall, hot summers with rain scattered about the entire year) They seem to be doing fine in the cold weather, they have been snuggling up on the roosts and if it gets REALLY cold we still have their heat lamp which we will shine on the area they sleep. We don't let them out in the snow.


They have a little roost in the corner, I'd say about 2.5 total feet of roost. (this is where they sleep). They have 8 metal nesting boxes mounted on the wall with roosts in front of each (adding an extra 6ish feet of roost). I would say the nesting boxes are a little bit more than 1.5x1.5 feet.

They have two holes in the walls. One is 1x2 hole from where the previous run for the previous chickens was. We have covered it over with chicken wire for ventilation, but close it in poor weather. The other is a 1x1 hole that goes out into their run. Both holes have covers for when it gets cold. They also have a window that is about 2x2, which is recycled from a house and made of glass. We usually leave this a crack open.

Also please note I don't live on the same property as my chickens. They are my chickens and I care for them but they live at my grandparents house. My grandpa used to have chickens but they were too much work for him to keep, so he had to give them away. I offered to get chickens and do all the work he just had to let them out in the morning so he could keep them at his house so he could watch them and get the eggs. He agreed. They really make him so happy and I love them of course; we both just want the best for them. Thanks again for all the help.
*all measurements are in feet*