Hi everyone, I have 4 chickens that are between 4-5 months old, two Isabrowns and two Australorps. Recently, one of the Isabrowns started crowing early in the morning! Now, one of the Australorps is also crowing, at all times of the day! What is going on? None of the chickens are agressive and definitely not roosters, and none have layed a single egg yet. This is the first time I've kept chickens, and I'm confused!
Sounds like you have some stealth roosters in the bunch - they pretend to be girls so you will get attached to them and not dump them once you find they are males. If one is crowing throughout the day that is a rooster. I would guess the morning crower is also unless you are thinking some chicken noise sounds like a crow. Best thing is to post individual photos of them at "what breed or gender is this." you'll get opinions from several responders. Depending on breed it may just be too soon for your birds to begin laying.
Welcome to BYC. Glad you decided to our flock. If two of them are really crowing (as opposed to the hen's egg song), then they are almost certainly roosters. A hen will crow on rare occasion, but it's are almost always a hen over two years old who has taken on the role of a rooster in a roosterless flock. Definitely post some pics of them on our What Breed or Gender is This? section at https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/15/what-breed-or-gender-is-this, and let our experts there confirm their gender for you. Please feel free to ask any questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with your flock.
Hi Glad you could join the flock! Great advice there for you from drumstick diva definatly post individual pics in the what breed gender section https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/15/what-breed-or-gender-is-this I have had this happen myself, totally convinced I had a little pullet untill he started to crow and it was the most pathetic crow I've ever heard. Did some research and did read a little on girls crowing so I still had hope. This was at 5 months and come the end of month 6 it was full blown crow and definatly not a pullet. He did turn out to be fab though very friendly, a super bird which I have now unfortunatly lost. Wishing you the very best of luck with your birds. Enjoy BYC
Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us. If your birds are crowing, they are probably roosters. Hens rarely crow. I would post photos of your birds, either on this thread, or in the What Breed or Gender section. Good luck with your flock!
Welcome to BYC! Although you feel they are definitely not roosters, a bird at this age that is crowing is not likely to be that much discussed "crowing hen" that the internet would lead you to believe is so common. I would suggest following the link provided to the "What Breed/Gender" forum and posting some photos of your birds. As this is your first time with chickens it is possible that you are not able to see the gender characteristics as clearly as other, more experienced, members here may be able to.
Welcome to BYC!!! There are loads of members on here…so if you have ANY questions…just ASK!!! Hope you have loads of fun and all your answers answered here on BYC the BEST CHICKEN KEEPING FORUM on EARTH!!
Hi, I have just joined and had to laugh when I read this! I have a one legged banty hen (a seabright named Peony)who is going on 8 years old. She was found dragging her leg in our coop one morning over 7 years ago. Somehow a raccoon had bitten through the wired section of this indoor coop and helped himself to some of my beloved pets. I was at the beach at the time. My boyfriend found them and rushed Peony 40 min. away to an excellent avian vet who amputated the useless limb. He said she may or may not survive. We could not return her to the rest of the flock as they turned on her, so home she came - to what has now been named "The Birdroom", dislodging me from my old 1st floor bedroom, now also home to a cockatiel (who landed in my front yard maple 6 years ago and decided to stay) as well as a blue canary (the last of many) who flies freely around the room. Peony is quite a loquacious character, and demanding to boot.. There have been a handful of times, when I haven't been up early enough to fill Her Majesty's food dish, that I have been summoned with a crow- after her screeches went unanswered. I couldn't believe it the first time I heard it! But there it was again, and again- always preceded by rising, ever louder clucking. So yes, I can attest to the fact that an elderly hen can crow on occasion, but only when she is displeased!