Hello all I have had great pleasure in owning my six girls for over a year now, so much so that I bought another six point of lays recently which I built a new pen for. With the original six I noticed that one was being picked on and feathers being pulled out by the others so I put her in with the six younger one's. She is looking a lot better but doesn't like any of the new girls near her which is understandable. She is not afraid to let them know who is boss and peck them if neccessary. I would really appreciate to know if I should leave her to become no 1 where she is, or seperate her completely to her own pen. I have plenty of land so pens are a good size. The youngsters are at point of lay but haven't laid yet so not sure if my little bully could affect that?
From what I've experienced, some pecking doesn't stop hens from laying. We introduced our younger hens to the flock before they started to lay, and they were immediately pounced upon by the older ones. However, they started to lay, as normal. I imagine it would cause some stress if it were severe picking, but if she's just showing them who's boss now and then, should be okay. You could leave her in the younger girls' pen. As long as all the young ones are getting enough food (my chickens tended to peck around feeding time) and physical damage is not being caused. She will probably be pretty unhappy if you separate her to be by herself.
