My cuckoo Marans hen has turned into a bully!

[roz]

I have a cuckoo Marans 2+ year old hen in with a flock of 7. They've lived together their whole lives. A few weeks ago our black Cochin hen started missing feathers on her neck and then one day I saw why. The cuckoo Marans will pin the Cochin down with one of her feet and pluck out some feathers. Zebra (the cuckoo Marans) has always been my peacekeeper so to speak, so I'm not sure what the heck happened to make her torture (Puffy) our Cochin. My kids named the chickens btw. Has anyone else had this happen ?

 

[RedDrgn]

Yes, unfortunately. Our BR decided she didn't like our BA about 3 weeks ago. No rhyme or reason to it. No changes or stresses imposed upon them. Really no identifiable reason for it at all. The BR just decided she didn't like her face, I guess and started picking her head, face, comb, earlobe, or a beakful of feathers if she missed any of those other items.

We isolated her for a week and then reintroduced her. While it helped, she still picks on the BA, though not nearly as badly. One thing that helped ours a little was putting Blue Kote on any of the bald spots.

 

[roz]

Wow, that's a bummer. So bizarre that one day everything is fine and the next day the don't like one of their flock. I'm glad you reminded me about the blue kote. I'll apply some tomorrow. Thanks!