This is the first time I've tried this, needless to say, and the info I found on the internet made it seem *much* simpler than it apparently is. I am not "dumping" anything off on someone else to manage; if I can't get them integrated, they'll stay in the crate, I was just hoping I could get it done as they are just starting to get almost too big for it.
I have 9 hens, mixed flock. They have a 120sqft coop with nest boxes & roosts, plus 2 waterers and food. In AZ, the best way we've found to keep our hens healthy and drinking water during our 110*+ summers is plenty of water in the coop, which we keep iced throughout the day. Their run is 200sqft, with some stumps/tires/roosts to hang out on, plus misters, a waterer (not in use during the summer, gets too hot, they won't drink it, attracts pigeons). They get scratch every morning, and fresh fruit/veggies at least a few times per week.
The picking started when we had more hens and roosters. We originally started with 19 birds, 17 hens, 2 roos. When we realized this was really the absolute maximum birds for our space (didn't expect all of the chicks from the hatchery to survive), we sold a few hens. The roosters went not long after that, because they were too rough on our hens, and many had bare necks.
Even with the roosters gone, many hens still have bare necks, and some even bare bottoms (on their backs at the base of their tails). Every time I see feathers growing back in, they get plucked out. So far as I can tell, most of the hens are guilty of feather picking. The only one I can be certain I haven't seen doing it is our black Cochin. My Anconas are perhaps slightly more aggressive than the rest. I do also see them preening each other, so certainly not all of their interactions are nasty. They are all mite and lice free, I check at least once per month. They have an area in the run for dust baths.
As for the chick that was attacked, she was the only one who left their cage, so I'm hoping it was exacerbated by this. I was trying to encourage the others out when she booked it out of there, and was beset upon by my flock.
My main thought it that, because the chickens already have bare skin, they can't help themselves but to peck at it? Is there some sort of skin salve I can put on to discourage this? I have checked at my local
Tractor Supply, but their stock of chicken supplies has been picked clean ever since we were first quarantined and hasn't yet recovered. I has so far just kept adding "environmental enrichments" to try and get them to stop, but obviously that simply isn't working.
It may be too late to manage by next Friday. You can try but you'll need a certain level of confidence that it will work before you dump that on someone else.
How big, in feet, is your coop? How big, in feet, is your run? How are they arranged? What does the coop look like inside. How many adults? Basically, what do you have to work with? Photos can often help us understand a lot.
That picking is another concern. You say you have plenty of room, how much do you actually have? In feet? For how many chickens? What do you mean by "picking"? Are they pecking each other, trying to hurt each other, or are they plucking feathers from each other, possibly eating them? I'm not sure what you are talking about.
Have you checked them for mites and lice? That can lead to feather picking.
Is it just one chicken doing the picking? Occasionally you get a bully and a brute that instigates all kinds of problems. You said the chick was immediately attacked by the hens. Was that really several or just one? Did the chick run away or did they not let it?
With what you have done I'd have expected a much better outcome. There is something going on that I don't understand.
