My Wyandottes are being picked on...(feathers being plucked on their back?)

[fluffpuffgerbil]

So I have no roosters, everyone is 18 weeks except for my 8 week old chicks which are in a separate pen in the run so the big ones can't touch them.
Anyway, so my GLW Ruby looks really 'downy' on her back and sides and stuff, and my mom was concerned so I went to go check her out for mites/problems/etc. I couldn't catch her first, but I noticed my SLW Lacey looked a little downy on her back, too, so I caught her first and checked her out to see she has a bare spot on her back with partial feather shafts and scabs from where her feathers have been pulled
















And Ruby:


















My Ancona chicken Alice is the only one I ever see going up to them and pecking their backs:



How should I fix this? Hen savers? Doesn't look like mites or anything are the problem, looks like they're just being 'plucked'....

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you let them outside to free range daily? Feather picking can quickly become a habit, so I would look at how much room they have, make sure they are getting a good quality feed that is 16-20% protein, and try to have some interesting things and places to explore to prevent boredom. If you don't let them out of the run, try doing so at least for a few hours in the evening. Anti-pick lotions or bad-tasting creams such as Rooster Booster, Bag Balm, Nustock, and others on the bare spots may help. Observation of the flock may help to find out if the ancona is the guilty party.

 

[fluffpuffgerbil]

No, I don't let them free range--- we have woods right outside the coop and they could easily run into trouble there, plus we have neighbors, and a non-fenced yard. A good chunk of their run is being taken over by the pen with the three younger birds I'm working on introducing to them... they'll have more room once the girls' pen isn't taking up a few sq feet...

We do have Bag Balm, so I could always rub that on their backs.... They are still on chick-starter right now even though(and I need to get some oyster shell for them to eat for calcium when they start laying hopefully soon, because I can't get layer while my younger chicks are still needing the starter feed). I might go throw some dubia roaches out there for them to chase and eat since that's a good source of nutrition for them, plus they have fun chasing them.

 

[Eggcessive]

Chick starter is fine for the protein--usually 18-20%. I keep mine on Flock Raiser which is identical to chick starter when I have chicks and big chickens together, and oyster shell in a separate bin..

 

[fluffpuffgerbil]

Tomorrow our feed store is having a bucket sale(fill a bucket and you get 20% off all the items you put in it) so I think I'll go pick up the oyster shell tomorrow especially since the girls are getting closer to laying. Also would it be an alright precaution to go ahead and make the wyandottes a couple of aprons to prevent pecking? I put the bag balm on their bare spots(was a bit of a sticky mess to try and do so... they're strong and squirmy girls). Hopefully it will help a bit...

 

[Kconner]

Are you sure you don't have a rooster? Some of my hens lose there feathers there from our young rooster's exuberance.

 

[fluffpuffgerbil]

Yep, 100% positive. We DID have a rooster, but we got rid of him a few weeks ago. No saddle feathers on anyone else and they are all just starting to get combs and wattles as opposed to my cockerel who had a huge comb at 8 weeks old

 

[fluffpuffgerbil]

I saw Alice(ancona) rip a feather off of Ruby's back today, and she has pecked both Ruby and Lacey on the backs multiple times. I wonder why she's picking on them and not my BO or BA....
We ordered pinless peepers to see if that will get her to stop. She also comes over to me and pecks me hard. Not really being aggressive, but being curious, tugging on my clothes and whatnot, but her beak is SHARP. Also, we got them a treat ball and put cracked corn+wheat mix in there, and got them some oyster shell to eat for calcium, and for later we got a flock block/cake to eat. I had a towel in there earlier since I was sitting in there and left it in there because they are having fun scratching it. Also there's a cardboard box in there they have been jupming on and playing around. Basically I've been trying to keep them occupied so they wont' pull each other's feathers or spend too much time trying to chase or pick on the younger birds I put in with them last night(after about a month of letting them 'see but no touch' them)
Hopefully everything will get back under control