Tiny but Mighty with a capital "B"

[Feathers n Fur]

I have a flock of 7 girls (10 months old). 2 EE's, 1 Dark Brahma, 1 Buff Orpington, 1 Comet, 1 EE mix and 1 bantam EE mix. The bantam is definitely the head chick. For no reason (that I could tell other than being a "b**ch") she runs after the other girls. Yesterday she chased my Orpinton (Lucy) and one of my EE's (Eggalina) out of the nesting boxes so she could sit in one. I have 3 boxes but currently putting in an additional 3 for the new chicks that will soon enter the space. I dumped 7 buckets of composted dirt in their run so they could dig for bugs and she chased every chick away from each pile. She relentlessly went after Waffles, one of my EE's. I stepped in a few times because she runs from behind and attacks them. I nudged her away from the others by pushing her back on her chest, body blocked her attacks and picked her up a few times. She has never attacked me even when I challenge her attacks on others - I AM the top chick when I enter the coop/run and she knows it. They all seem to get out of her way with no incident.

I will be putting 7 chicks (between 5 and 8 wks old) in the coop sectioned off by chicken wire for a few weeks to slowly integrate them. My fear is that she will do some serious damage to the babies.

What do you do with "evil girls" with a chip on their shoulder?

 

[Judy]

She may be acting this way because she is smaller. Some would leave them alone to work it out on their own, as long as she does not draw blood -- and no one is prevented from eating and drinking. A common approach to a "bully" who is doing harm is to remove the bird for a week, out of sight of the others, then return it to the flock. At this point it should have to return at or near the bottom of the pecking order.

Here is a thread about another bantam terrorist:, and how she is handled:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ck-hen-will-she-become-a-suicide-flogger/0_20

 

[Feathers n Fur]

flockwatcher - Thanks for the link to the thread. She's not as bad as "The Tiny Terror" but she sure rules those girls in the coop/run. She's like the evil stepmother who gains pleasure from harrassing them. If she ever comes at me with force like Tiny Terror she'll take a quick ride to "the farm." I'll have to keep a keen eye on her when the young ones are introduced. If she attacks out of nowhere relentlessly I'll have to sequester her. If she just won't give up she's signing her own eviction notice.