What can I do about my nasty hen?

[aart]

I'd put the pad in box with sides at least 3-4" higher than pad to keep her form kicking out fakes...or real egg!
You don't have to put anything nest-like in there if you don't want....if she's gonna lay she's gonna lay.
Pullets often lay their eggs all over the place at first before they find the 'good place' that you provide and bait with fakes and get some control.
Can take up to a month or so for them to settle down and lay regularly where you want them to.

Chickens take patience...lots of patience, observation and understanding.
Quoting centrarchid:
"Make every effort to understand your chicken's biology and the environment that supports it."

Egg might be blue, but it probably won't be big.......pullet eggs are small for anywhere from a couple weeks to months and months.

 

[Chicken Cake]

I put a dishpan in with her. It takes up a lot of room but one thing really important to me is that they lay in the designated place. I will accept a small egg as the first one but she owes me.

Right now they are all loose in the yard together and NH is on her best behavior. What I did differently is to let all the chicks out first so they got settled. Nice Hen was torn but eventually went with them and then I released NH. They paired up as usual but at least the chicks are getting to visit new parts of the yard. That is a pretty big step!

 

[aart]

I put a dishpan in with her. It takes up a lot of room but one thing really important to me is that they lay in the designated place. I will accept a small egg as the first one but she owes me.

Right now they are all loose in the yard together and NH is on her best behavior. What I did differently is to let all the chicks out first so they got settled. Nice Hen was torn but eventually went with them and then I released NH. They paired up as usual but at least the chicks are getting to visit new parts of the yard. That is a pretty big step!

Great news....timeouts can really work.
Just keep juggling them!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I put a dishpan in with her. It takes up a lot of room but one thing really important to me is that they lay in the designated place. I will accept a small egg as the first one but she owes me.

Right now they are all loose in the yard together and NH is on her best behavior. What I did differently is to let all the chicks out first so they got settled. Nice Hen was torn but eventually went with them and then I released NH. They paired up as usual but at least the chicks are getting to visit new parts of the yard. That is a pretty big step!

What's missing here is a different designation. NH could mean nice hen or nasty hen so it's hard to follow.

You'll get lots more than one small egg for the first couple months before they come up to size.

If you want them laying in a designated place, put in permanent nest boxes that are attractive(i.e. darks, comfy and appropriately sized).

 

[Chicken Cake]

Wish I had asked this question sooner because I have NEVER seen NH close to the chicks with her head down, much less in between them without drama.

 

[Chicken Cake]

What's missing here is a different designation. NH could mean nice hen or nasty hen so it's hard to follow.

You'll get lots more than one small egg for the first couple months before they come up to size.

If you want them laying in a designated place, put in permanent nest boxes that are attractive(i.e. darks, comfy and appropriately sized).

Nice Hen got the full spelling and NH didn’t but their real names are Waffles and Sausage. with Sausage being the Nasty Hen.

Waffles has been laying for a few weeks (in the correct place) so I know what size to expect. It was a joke that Sausage owes me.

 

[Chicken Cake]

Sausage came out swinging this morning and I'm back where we started with the chicks. How cruel would it be to not let her free range at all for a couple days? She might be able to see them from most spots in the jail cell but no promises.

In addition to the chicks, now Waffles looks stressed and wanted to come in the house with me rather than be near any of them today.

 

[aart]

Sausage came out swinging this morning and I'm back where we started with the chicks. How cruel would it be to not let her free range at all for a couple days? She might be able to see them from most spots in the jail cell but no promises.

In addition to the chicks, now Waffles looks stressed and wanted to come in the house with me rather than be near any of them today.

How cruel? Crueler than what she's doing to the chicks?
I don't think it's cruel to keep her isolated if she's beating the h e doublehockeysticks out of the chicks.
Go ahead and lock her up for a few days....then give her another chance and lock her up every time she goes 'bad'.

ETA....didn't mean to sound snarky....just a bit sarcastic.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Definitely remove the bully and house her separately for at least a week. Then things may go better when she's introduced. If not, separate her for another week.

Established flock look upon new birds as a threat. They instinctively feel they will complete for resources and can possibly bring in disease. They try to drive them away to protect the flock.

Quote:

She won't hold an egg. Once ovulation occurs, the egg will be laid in about 24 hours. Pullets at POL usually try out the nest box a few days before the first egg.

Should I put the chicks in there for a few days before letting the big girls in so they “claim it”?

Put the chicks in there a couple days and then add an older bird every couple days, starting with the most docile and lastly, the mean one.

I reiterate the advice I had already given on the first page of this thread.

 

[Chicken Cake]

How cruel? Crueler than what she's doing to the chicks?
I don't think it's cruel to keep her isolated if she's beating the h e doublehockeysticks out of the chicks.
Go ahead and lock her up for a few days....then give her another chance and lock her up every time she goes 'bad'.

ETA....didn't mean to sound snarky....just a bit sarcastic.

I didn’t take it as snarky.

Quote:

I reiterate the advice I had already given on the first page of this thread.

We have room for 6 chickens to live peacefully in my back yard. It was originally 4 but I miraculously ended up with all pullets when I tried to add 2 more so we’re trying to make it work. I read your advice and appreciated it. But I don’t have enough hens to add “older, docile” ones first and Sausage last. She’s either left all alone or she’s at least part of the mix, which is the basis of my question about whether that is cruel.