What to do with a hen pecking other hens?

[gln121]

A friend has about 16 chickens. One of the hens is constantly pecking at the other brids and several have feathers missing now. Is there any solution to this other than the obvious one of removing the hen pecking hen?

Many thanks.

[Hippy]

No one has an answer to this although most agree that some sort of stress may trigger this behaviour, which is a distortion of normal social behaviour.

The most drastic and rather cruel method is beak trimming, where about a third of the offending hen's beak is removed surgically and should be performed by a professional. Not my idea of a good time!

Others say that sprinkling wheat at a rate of one gramme per bird in the litter area at about 1400hrs counteracted the "boredom" factor. and reduced the instances of pecking. Also an adequate and clean litter area, especially toward the end of a lay, has been found to be effective. (Bristol Veterinary Dept & Warwick University)

Hens exhibit severe feather pecking near the nesting area and milder pecking elsewhere. It could be important to use dim light in nest boxes so that the plumage of other birds appears less attractive as a nesting material to the offending birds.

I think, once started, this particular vice is extremely hard to stop.