[nic n dave]

hi guys, i currently just have the 2 hens which ive had for nearly 3 years now but one of my hens starting pecking the other on the bum underneath area....so i brought some anti pecking spray and her feathers are slowly growing back, but yesterday morning i went to let them out and it looked like a fox attack!! feathers everywhere and my poor poor other hen is in a very sorry state. this of course was not a fox but my other hen had done this to her.
ive just been out today cleaning out the coop and shes even going for her in the garden she just wont give her a break not even to let her eat. its awfull,
so ive traken drastic measures and separated my bully hen into my spare coop to give the other some much needed time to recover and grow some feathers back!
have i done the right thing in separating them? will they be lonely cold etc having a coop all on their own each?
i think my bully hen has a taste for blood hence why she is being like this. is this possible?
i had to cull my 3rd hen that i had as the same thing happened to her and she then ended up with a serious prolapse then i just couldnt correct, she was extreamly underweight and barely any feathers and my bully hen used to pick on her and im convinced its all because of her!
so now my 3rd hen is gone shes now going for this one?
i dont understand why as they all lived happily together for 2 years then all of a sudden i have this nightmare going on!
someone please help

[joyfull]

it sounds like she is a right old bully and always has wanted to be and remain the top hen. In this case I would say fit her with a beak clip - she will still be able to eat and drink but no be able to grasp the feathers of your other bird. Beak clips are cheap and only cost about a pound for 6 or 8 

[joyfull]

here you go the domestic fowl trust sells them £1.50 for 10 

http://www.domesticfowltrust.co.uk/products/info_apb.html

[nic n dave]

thankyou for your reply.
so i do not need to separate her then? ive already done this. i was thinking of keeping her separate and possible getting my other hen 2 new friends , but this then would mean bully hen would live alone for rest of her days 

[nic n dave]

also will a beak clip stop her from being top hen?

[joyfull]

keep her separate until you get the beak clips (they should only take a couple of days to reach you) and then re-introduce her. She will hate having it on but after a day or so will soon forget all about it and your other hen/hens (if you add more) will be safe from her feather pecking  
A beak clip may not stop her from being top hen but it will limit any damage she can do 

[francais]

We had one like this, so on advice from a friend we moved her from the main group for about week to 10 days (well away from the main group if possible). Then re-introduce her. By this time she had lost her top spot and even got her rump kicked a bit!

She never regained the top bird slot and we now have no problems with her at all - she is just part of the group.