Not happy with a hen! Barnyard Bully? Or Hapless Hen? (Pic of Perp)

[WriterofWords]

I have two hens that like to lay their eggs on the porch, so I set out two milk crates with straw in them just for these two ladies. They're Cogburn's Redhead and Blue's Penny. For two weeks every morning the ladies lay their eggs and go on about their business.
Well for the last 3 days there were no eggs in either crate so I thought maybe they were making a setting nest somewhere to go broody... oh nooooooo,,,,,
I saw Red lay her egg this morning and about an hour later Penny laid hers. I went to breakfast with friends, came back, and Red's egg was gone! I searched through the straw but no egg,, anywhere,, but some gooey evidence,,,,
About 15 minutes later, me watching through the front window, another hen, one of my huge grey/white fuzzy legged ladies hopped into Penny's nest and crushed her egg! The she ate it. I ran out the door but it was too late, she just hopped out and walked off.
Is she bullying them? How can I stop this? They all range together. As far as I know the grey girls haven't laid yet.

 

[countryboy]

does she crush and eat the ones in the coop also?

 

[WriterofWords]

Penny and Red were the only ones laying so far, with one other laying in Penny's nest about every 5 days. There aren't any others for her to go after, that I know of, unless she's been eating those too!

 

[countryboy]

can you keep the ones laying cooped up till noon then let them out so hopefully they will learn to lay in the coop, the one that is crushing them I think I would isolate or get rid of.

 

[A Carolina Chick]

Good luck!

 

[WriterofWords]

Penny isn't cooped at all, she and Blue are free range 100% of the time because Cogburn picks on Penny. Cogburn and his ladies, and both Red, and Big Foot the one eating the eggs, roost with him. Red lays after she gets up in the morning and wanders around for a couple of hours and then I'm at work. While I'm off for the summer, after the 5th, it will be easier for me to deal with. I don't want to get rid of Big Foot or her sister Mongo, but I don't want them destroying the eggs either. Could something be missing in their diets to cause her to do this. At this very moment she is sitting next to the box waiting for an egg! I'm going to go take a picture of her.

 

[ChickNLittle]

I have some White Leghorn hens that I am going to cook soon if they don't straighten up. I put a new roo and two younger hens in there and they have been absolutely terrifying them. The roo ran out today when my husband went to feed (guess he couldn't stand 7 nagging hens.) Tehe. They have plenty of room in coop plus an outside attachment. I have had these hens since last year. I bought them from MacMurrays. They are great layers, and they lay great eggs. Any ideas?

 

[WriterofWords]

I don't know, mine don't get vicious, but Cogburn will pull Penny's feathers until she squawks at him then he'll stop, or he'll do it until Blue gets upset. But Blue, Penny, Charlotte, and Bubba Duck are a unit so they are free rangers to keep them happy and safe.

 

[WriterofWords]

This is Big Foot,, the smaller of the two big sisters from the babies left on my door step in December. She is sitting in between the boxes. The one behind her is Penny's and the one in front of her is Red's.

 

[WriterofWords]

These are the two big girls, Big Foot and Mondo,, they are huge compared to Red and Penny. Red is Cogburn's main girl, she's in the second pic. She's in the first also but you see her better in the second.