my first molt

[Oscgrr]

I have successfully integrated eight new pullets into my flock of ten one-year-old hens. The fighting has been minimum and ended as soon as a pecking order was established, months ago, but I have a new problem. The year-old girls are now molting and they are being picked on by the others. All of the others, actually. They're even being picked on by the other molting chickens. One barred rock was pecked to death and my EE runs into the woods and hides as soon as I let them out to free range and is the last to return to the coop at sunset (she runs in and hops up onto the roost as soon as all the others have settled in, and not a moment before). Should I be seperating the molters, now three, from the rest? Even from each-other? I don't have the ability to provide seperate individual quarters for nine chickens.

Has anybody else had this or similar problems? If so, what were your solutions? Are there solutions?

Thank you for reading my questions,
Dwaine

 

[nuchickontheblock]

I don't have experience with this specific situation to help you. My chickens all seem to molt at the same time and leave each other alone. You may want to repost with a different title like "molting chicken pecked to death" or something like that to get folks' attention so that they can give you the advice you need. Just a thought.
Good luck.