Crowing Hen

[bukbugack]

My 1 1/2 year old Buff Orp hen has started to crow! It started 2 weeks ago with a sick-sounding two-syllable crow, but has now developed into a full-blown cock-a-doodle-doo. The bird's comb has also become big and bright red. I have kept my hens on natural light this past few months to allow them to molt and have a break from egglaying. Since then all of my other bird's combs have become dull in color, as is normal. How strange is this orp? I plan on switching my birds back to artificial light with a timer soon. May I expect this confused bird to return to its normal egg-laying self?

 

[pgpoultry]

Occasionally a dominant hen will crow....is she alpha female?
The other fairly common cause is a problem with her ovaries. Is she still egg laying?
I had a Warren....brown egg-laying hybrid who developed an ovarian tumour. She progressed from laying normal eggs, to soft shelled and then no membrane even on them. She stopped laying altogether and her comb and wattles took on male pattern, she became aggressive and tried to crow. Eventually she became ill and had to be culled.This situation is more common in hybrids bred for egg laying than pure breeds.

 

[bukbugack]

This bird is second in command. She is pretty gentle, and has not shown any other change in behavior besides the crowing. As stated, my birds are on a break from laying right now, and will be started up again soon.

 

[mychookschick]

I have heard that if no roosters are kept, occasionally a hen will take on the roll of the rooster and begin to crow and act like he would.... But they (obviously) can't fertilize eggs. I'm not 100% sure if that is correct or not but it sounds kind of interesting... Anybody else heard about this or seen it first hand?

I hope somebody can give you a more concrete answer! Good luck!!

 

[cbeth95]

I'm not a pro at this sort of subject...but maybe its the breed?

Iv'e heard of crowing females before...not sure where tho...

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Quote:
I heard the same thing. Sometimes quieter than the egg song.