Originally Posted By Byrd-Shooter:
Ok so we introduced three new birds to the flock this past Spring.  It has caused a bunch of issues with stress, infighting, and feather pulling.

Over the course of the past few months, we have tried jackets (which worked well to protect their backs) and I was pulling out the aggressive birds (when I could catch them) and putting them in chicken jail for a few hours.

Ultimately things settled down but I don't think I ever really addressed the root cause, which was that they felt the coop became too crowded at night.  I ended up expanding the run as well, which helped a bunch during the day.  I also added swings, and other toys to keep them occupied.  All seem to help a lot during the day.

In the past month, most of the flock have been having the feathers on their stomach and around their butts all pulled out.  I think its happening at night inside the coop while roosting.

One of the new girls in particular has been picked clean and was starting to show injuries.  I have separated her and have her nice and comfy in the garage.  She has been doing really well the last 24 hours.  I may offer her to another family once she is healed up, just to maintain the balance in my flock moving forward.

Pulling one bird out looks like it has settled some of the tension, but I really need to nip it in the bud.  I am going to put pinless peepers on the two girls I suspect to be the biggest problem in the coop.

Anyone have a different recommendations?  Or dealt with this in the past?  Will this get better when the temps drop?