Full Grown Hen Harassing Young Pullets

[4Chex]

I've recently moved my young pullets/chicks from the brooder to the coop with the rest of the big girls. All of the full grown hens are fine except for one 4 year old barred rock who will charge at them and then separate out one of the pullets, whom she will chase for what appears to be entertainment. This only occurs in the chicken run and not when the girls are free ranging as the pullets make sure to steer clear of the aggressive hen whenever they can. The pullets are around 8 weeks old and have been sleeping outside for the past two weeks. In order to transition the pullets to the coop, I resorted to removing the aggressive hen from the flock when they go into the coop in the evening and having her sleep in a separate area. However, if I attempt to introduce both the older aggressive hen and the pullets in the same area, she will consistently terrorize them and attempt to attack them. Any advice for how should I handle this situation as the pullets must be able to live outside with the rest of the grown hens.

 

[LaFleche]

You could keep her separated in a cage for a few days and see if this will cool her down.

 

[Theorrin]

did you do see no touch before intros?

 

[4Chex]

The hens met the pullets for a few days with no contact, and were then introduced for a couple of days in a free range environment prior to placing the pullets in the run/coop with no problems. The other hens love the pullets and will flock with them, but the aggressive barred rock lashes out. However, separating her (the aggressive hen), as I have been doing for the past week has done nothing to negate her behavior when I attempt to reincorporate both the pullets and aggressive hen to the rest of the flock.

 

[LaFleche]

Would finding her a new home be an option for you?

 

[Tonyroo]

Get rid of the aggressive hen or cull her. It's almost impossible to change that behavior in a chicken let alone the others learn from her.

I keep the peace with my flock by doing what needs to be done. Priority always goes to the new birds.

 

[4Chex]

She is normally a very sweet bird and at the bottom of the pecking order…I wonder if perhaps she is simply trying to avoid remaining there during the introduction of new birds. I am going to attempt to separate the run so she can be on one side and the pullers on the other until they a large enough to stand up to her.

 

[aart]

She is normally a very sweet bird and at the bottom of the pecking order

This is typical, the lowest bird in the flock is the most threatened by new birds.
Threatened or just gleefully happy to have someone lower in the order.

However, separating her (the aggressive hen), as I have been doing for the past week has done nothing to negate her behavior when I attempt to reincorporate both the pullets and aggressive hen to the rest of the flock.

When you separated the bully hen, was she separate 24/7?

Did you remove the pullets at the same time, even tho the rest of the hens didn't mind them?

How big is your coop and run, in feet by feet?
Dimensions and pics would help immensely here.

 

[4Chex]

The hen was separated from the rest of the flock during the night through the morning, as I typically let the girls range all day. However, on days they could not do so I kept the pullers separated in an inclosed area where they could still view the older hens in order to get used to them, which posed no issues. We have a chicken run run which is around 15x7 ft and about 7 ft tall, and an indoor sleeping area with two long roosts which is about 5x7 ft and 4 ft tall.