Dealing with a bully

[Kedi]

Hi all,
I'm fairly new to this chicken-business - have been keeping them since about last May.
Anyway, we currently have four hens - two came to us in February (Jester and Jemima), and two more pullets joined us three weeks ago.
Jester is very much top hen - top of the pecking order, a huge great big fat girl, and Oxford Blue. She had a broody season in May even though she was only six months old, but we managed to break it after about two weeks of shutting her out of the coop and the nest. Jester is also a total foghorn with lots of alarm calls. She finished her broody period about two weeks before the new girls arrived, although I had a run of broody poos again the other day and had to get her out of bed in the morning.
She's being a bit mean to the new girls though. They met visually first but then had a few nights together... while the new girls stayed in the coop during the day and J&J had the garden. After a few days of this they all had free range in the garden during the day, but then the new girls decided to sleep elsewhere.
This last week all four of them have been sleeping together again which is great.

So that's the background.
What I'm wondering about is the extent to which Jester's current behaviour is normal chicken behaviour and how much I should try to modify it. I have two worries:
1. Sometimes she chases the new girls in the garden for no reason. They are definitely nervous of her and they trot past her very quickly. It's not just about food - sometimes it seems pure spite!
2. Bedtimes are a little stressful: Jemima puts herself to bed nicely. The the new girls clearly look like they want to go to bed but Jester patrols the coop and seems reluctant to let them in. I've got around this by opening several doors into the coop so she can't actually stop them, but they're still definitely nervous of her even though they know where bed is. They are managing it finally but it's all getting a bit too dark for my liking before they actually all go in. Jester definitely wants to be last into bed (is this part of being Top Hen?), but she's also contradicting herself by not really wanting the new girls to go to bed. Once they're all in bed and I shut them in, they seem fine, and she doesn't seem to bully them too much overnight.

Any thoughts? Especially re: the bedtime behaviour? Should I intervene or trust that it'll sort itself out?

PS Jemima is a white leghorn and the new girls (Penelope and Agnes) are Cheshire Brown and a Cheshire Blue. The Cheshire blue I'm told is an arucauna / leghorn cross and I'm not sure about the cheshire brown - definitely got a bit of a leghorn look about her and I'm told she will lay green eggs, - she has a bit of a look of a typical red hen but with some black feathers in her tail - almost has a pheasant look about her. They both have tufty feathers on their heads; Penelope, the Cheshire Brown, looks a bit like Ziggy Stardust). I am in Oxfordshire in the UK.

 

[i_love_chickens_017]

. This video can give tips on how to reform a bully.

 

[Kedi]

. This video can give tips on how to reform a bully.

Thank you! I did wonder whether she needed a little spell in chicken prison. I might give it another week to see how she gets on, and if no better, in she goes!

 

[aart]

This video can give tips on how to reform a bully.

She a little nuts, but had some solid advice....
....up to the magic juice part.
Isolating the bully might work...but is a last resort. IMO.

Sounds like typical integration behavior to me.
How big is your coop and run, in feet by feet??
Dimensions and pics would help here.

Here's some tips about....
Integration Basics:
It's all about territory and resources(space/food/water).
Existing birds will almost always attack new ones to defend their resources.
Understanding chicken behaviors is essential to integrating new birds into your flock.

Confine new birds within sight but physically segregated from older/existing birds for several weeks, so they can see and get used to each other but not physically interact.

In adjacent runs, spread scratch grains along the dividing mesh, best if mesh is just big enough for birds to stick their head thru, so they get used to eating together.

The more space, the better. Birds will peck to establish dominance, the pecked bird needs space to get away. As long as there's no copious blood drawn and/or new bird is not trapped/pinned down and beaten unmercilessly, let them work it out. Every time you interfere or remove new birds, they'll have to start the pecking order thing all over again.

Multiple feed/water stations. Dominance issues are most often carried out over sustenance, more stations lessens the frequency of that issue.

Places for the new birds to hide 'out of line of sight'(but not a dead end trap) and/or up and away from any bully birds. Roosts, pallets or boards leaned up against walls or up on concrete blocks, old chairs tables, branches, logs, stumps out in the run can really help. Lots of diversion and places to 'hide' instead of bare wide open run.
Good ideas for hiding places:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/a-cluttered-run.1323792/

 

[Kedi]

Hi!,
I've put some pictures below.
The coop is about 1m by 4m (so about 3ft by 12?), but they're never shut in there apart from at night. I have an outside run attached to that which is an odd shape but it's probably about 12ft square ish. There's a gate (which hasn't been closed since lockdown on 23rd March!) into the garden from there where they have free range in an area that's about 100m x 30ish (so about 300ft x 100ft or something. You can see the garden in the first picture with a fab hedge full of hidey holes and places to peck and scratch. Also multiple sources of food and water (there are three water bowls and two sources of layers pellets. I also sometimes throw corn on the grass for them in the evenings and try to spread it out so they can all access it.

.

Jester isn't pulling any feathers (any more - she did a little bit on the first few days together but that's not happened for a good week) , just chases the new girls away (one of them in particular). But she guards the door into the run at bedtime to stop them going in, and if the new girls make it into the run she often chases them away again. I'm trying to intervene as little as possible but they do seem to need help getting safely into bed without Jester stopping them. Last night I had to shut Jester out of the run (I distracted her with food), then the new girls went into the coop.

Unfortunately I can't rebuild or move anything, but I think the issue is the narrow gate into the run! Was fine when we only had two of them and they will need to get used to being (occasionally) shut in the run without free access to the garden if we go away or if we ever end up being out of the house ever again!

Anyway I'm waffling. Thanks for your advice and thoughts!

 

[Kedi]

PS the new girls did have their own nest to sleep in but then spontaneously went into the big girls' nest last week, so I removed their temporary one as I'd rather they were in together and saw where the best place to lay was, etc).

 

[aart]

This is what we call the 'coop', where they should have roosts to sleep on and nests to lay in.

It much too small for 6 birds.

the new girls did have their own nest to sleep in but then spontaneously went into the big girls' nest last week, so I removed their temporary one as I'd rather they were in together and saw where the best place to lay was, etc).

Where are these "nests"?

 

[Kedi]

I haven't got six birds, I've got four!
Inside there are two roosting bars and then a nice nest for laying. Ever since I got hens they've preferred to sleep in the nest than to roost on the bars. Agree it would be too small for six.

 

[aart]

I haven't got six birds, I've got four!
Inside there are two roosting bars and then a nice nest for laying. Ever since I got hens they've preferred to sleep in the nest than to roost on the bars. Agree it would be too small for six.

Oops, sorry, counted wrong...still pretty small for 4 especially during integration.