hen pecking own feathers

please could i have advice on a couple of things.... we got three rescue hens last june, we had to give one away as she just bullied.the two left got on well but we lost one with the bad weather. so the one left (RED) has been treated like a pet though we thought she was lonely. we heard a friends mother was giving 3 hens away, so got them last monday, we put them together but the 3 are sticking together and RED is at the bottom of the pecking order.they have`nt let up on her at all and i`m wondering if i should seperate her from them? .....also the next one up from her is taking her own feathers out of her own chest and standing while the next one up from her pecks the feathers out as well!  at my wits end. please help

Hello greenacres, and welcome to the henhouse

What you are seeing is normal pecking order arrangements.  Just grit your teeth, and it should settle down within a couple of weeks.  It might be handy to have some purple spray (gential violet - available from horse supply shops) handy incase their is any blood drawn.

As for the other hen who is now pecking out her feathers... what breed is she?  Broody hen will remove the feathers from their breast and abdomwen to halp facilitate the incubation process... so keep an eye out for any more brrody-like behavious, so you can nip it in the bud