Moulting or Feather Pecking?

[YaYasDottes]

Here is a picture of my 'honker.' Do you think she is a rooster? She is supposed to be a Black Star, but she sure doesn't look like the others that have

iridescent black/green feathers.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I spent hours with the chickens today and discovered one of the gold Wyandottes was ripping feathers off others and swallowing them on the spot. She was also chasing them away from feeders and waterers.

Removing her also revealed that a small hen who has been steadily declining was simply unable to bypass the bully to access any food. She ate a warm dinner on my lap and toddled off to her roost before the others.

When it grew dark, I put my offender in the run inside of a smaller pen by herself. While the rest of the hens enjoyed a treat of their feed mixed with hot water, my troublemaker had to sit and watch. As everyone hopped up onto their roosts for the night, I gave her a small amount of feed and water that she had to eat alone.

Your coop is beautiful!

The GLW is eating the feathers she's ripping out? What are you feeding? I would increase protein to 18-20% . You can use an all flock type feed or if you can find layer feed at those protein levels it would be good.

Having plenty of run space (again, yours may be a little tight for Large Fowl) is helpful to stop the more dominant bird(s) from controlling feed and water stations. Add more stations and see if that helps.

I understand your separating the dominant bird. I have never found that to work for me, I think some have had better results or they ended up re-homing or culling.
A dominant usually is always dominant regardless of how long they are separated from that particular flock (ime).
While giving the others a nice treat while she sits and watches may make you feel some type of satisfaction, the punishment/lesson you are trying to teach is lost on a chicken.

 

[Inkisevidence]

View attachment 2416593
This is my coop and run. I spent hours with the chickens today and discovered one of the gold Wyandottes was ripping feathers off others and swallowing them on the spot. She was also chasing them away from feeders and waterers.

I put her in a separate coop by herself, and the entire flock breathed a collective sigh of relief. I was amazed by how much more calm they all were when she was out of the picture. Removing her also revealed that a small hen who has been steadily declining was simply unable to bypass the bully to access any food. She ate a warm dinner on my lap and toddled off to her roost before the others. Usually, she is whining at me and refusing to go to her roost. Now I can see that she was trying to tell me she was hungry!

When it grew dark, I put my offender in the run inside of a smaller pen by herself. While the rest of the hens enjoyed a treat of their feed mixed with hot water, my troublemaker had to sit and watch. As everyone hopped up onto their roosts for the night, I gave her a small amount of feed and water that she had to eat alone.

Since I have nowhere to put the bully in separate quarters at night that would be safe from predators, I put her back in the coop after all the others were asleep. If she pulls any feathers overnight, I am going to install a dog crate in the coop for 'jail.' As long as she continues bullying, I will keep isolating her. If she doesn't quit harassing the others soon, she may have to
be culled.

What ended up working for you?