Chicken turning into a rooster

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I should be clear, she's mean to me while she's my daughter's favorite. I caught them sunbathing together on the grass yesterday - hen asleep, laying on my kid's belly.

Seriously - just get rid of a bird that no longer fits the flock. If you keep them, they wind up ruining the whole chicken experience. There is little you can really do to stop behavior in a chicken. Sell or cull, and you will enjoy your flock again. You will be amazed at how much happier you are without the problem.

While I agree with you that many times this is the practical solution, some people love their chickens as individuals and see them as pets, and so look for solutions to save them if they are ill, or try to solve a problem in order to keep the problematic bird. In this case, the OP has her daughter to consider.

 

[Mrs. K]

While I agree with you that many times this is the practical solution, some people love their chickens as individuals and see them as pets, and so look for solutions to save them if they are ill, or try to solve a problem in order to keep the problematic bird. In this case, the OP has her daughter to consider.

Are you indicating that I should have not posted my response?

It is a realistic solution. A bird often times is much happier in a different situation such as a flock that the bird fits into. Where the bird can live with crowing and not be a problem.

It is realistic that nothing lives forever. Neighbors have realistic expectations to be comfortable in their own homes. I am not suggesting abusing the bird, but rather a quick painless dispatch for the good of the flock.

Mrs K

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Are you indicating that I should have not posted my response?

Not at all; I think most would agree with you, and I can't say what I would do in the OP's situation, other than take my daughter's feelings into extreme consideration. If nothing else, the OP may be able to find the crowing hen a home that allows roosters, near enough for her daughter to visit. (Which you also mentioned that selling the hen is an option.) My intent in my post was to encourage the OP to look at options that may allow the hen to stay, since the hen is the OP's daughter's favorite chicken pet.

 

[lancasterflock]

Oh my god. I have this very thing going on in my flock! This definitely was a hen. All feathering is rounded feathers and was silent until she hit 7 months old. I have no rooster in my flock and Molly has slowly transitioned into Marvin. Her feathers started changing, the colors in the feathering started changing, her comb grew taller. Her attitude is purely rooster now. She mounts all my other hens. She was suppose to be an F1 olive egger hen. I’m finding it very interesting that these hen/roosters are either EE or some kind of a mix close to an EE. This is “Molly” crowing this morning. I have since isolated her until I figure out what to do because I can’t have roosters where I live.

 

[mossyotter]

Just sharing an update here …. We had Suprelorin injected into our crowing hen to see if we could keep her and… she stopped! Nothing else changed about her - tho she did molt slightly - slightly less rooster tendencies. She started crowing again about 5 months later. We decided to rehome her as, living in the city, it wasn’t going to be sustainable for us to continue the injections throughout her hopefully long life. It allowed for my kid to see that it was time to make another choice and let go of her favorite hen. She’s much happier now, crowing on a farm out of the city.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

That's very interesting the Suprelorin implant suppressed the crowing for several months. Though you eventually chose to rehome your crowing hen, the info is helpful to anyone who hopes to keep a crowing hen where no "roosters" are allowed. Thanks for posting!

 

[Snakebiteholloway]

I currently have 9 Easter eggers that are a little over 3 years old, among them a hen named "Z," who has been having difficulty laying eggs with fragile shells or no shells at all. Recently, I've noticed that Z is developing waddles, which could be a sign of transitioning into a rooster. However, Z has become increasingly aggressive towards another hen named "Sammy," who was previously on a similar hierarchical level. This aggression has left Sammy so frightened that she spends most of her time hiding in the coop and only comes out when we are present.

To address the situation, I have bought a coop with a run and separated Z from the rest of the group. My concern is whether this aggressive behavior is caused by Z's transition or if Z needs to be permanently removed from the group. Alternatively, perhaps a few weeks of isolation will resolve the issue. However, I'm worried that even after the isolation period, Z may continue to attack Sammy.

What is your perspective on this matter?

Is there a resident roo? I've had a couple of dominant hens over the years start acting like roos when i didn't have one. As if they took up the flockdaddy duties. Crowing (horrible gargling with razor blade noises!) Bossing the others around, alert for predators, everything but mounting. When i introduced a roo, they'd fight like both were roosters for a couple days. The confused hen always started it! After a bit, she'd calm down and start laying and being a lady again.
Weird, huh?