Unusual chicken behavior

[ChickenPerson1234789]

For background I have 5 20 week old chicken. A few days ago, 2 of them (one white one brown) had a very aggressive fight in front of me that resulted in the brown one pecking a full feather off of the white. I put the brown one in separated area for the night and had her watch the others play for the next day.

The day after, I let them all out and watched them closely. It seems that since then, the brown one is extremely scared of the white one and avoids it all the time. Also, the white one (whenever the brown one is eating/drinking) sneaks up to peck the brown one on the back a fewtimes. It seems like the white one gets a hold of a feather but never actually pulls it out.

Is this just normal dominance play as they get into egg laying or something else? I kept them together in the coop overnight without much issue but just recently the pecking has gotten more aggressive (but still no blood/bald spots).

Any idea whats goin on or what I can do to fix this?

 

[sourland]

Increasing hormone levels in developing pullets and resultant normal pecking order interactions. As long as they are getting enough to eat and drink and no blood is being drawn, It's just normal social interaction.

 

[ChickenPerson1234789]

Increasing hormone levels in developing pullets and resultant normal pecking order interactions. As long as they are getting enough to eat and drink and no blood is being drawn, It's just normal social interaction.

Do you think I should i keep the troublesome one separated or not?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Do you think I should i keep the troublesome one separated or not?

I would not - I would make sure to provide at least 2 feeders placed well apart, with some barrier to break line of sight, as food can be something they'll squabble over. And I would add plenty of other clutter so if there's some aggression, the picked on bird(s) have places to shelter. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

 

[aart]

I would not - I would make sure to provide at least 2 feeders placed well apart, with some barrier to break line of sight, as food can be something they'll squabble over. And I would add plenty of other clutter so if there's some aggression, the picked on bird(s) have places to shelter. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

This^^^^

How big is your coop and run, in feet by feet?
How many birds total?
Dimensions and pics would help here.