Do Hens Crow Sometimes?

[chickeepoo]

Do hens without a rooster around sometimes make sounds like attempts at crowing?

 

[nccountrygirl]

I have heard they will crow when a rooster is not present.

 

[eggzettera]

From what I have read here it really is not that uncommon for a flock with no rooster to have the lead hen take the roosters place & that includes crowing (not mating) watching the skies, and general management of the flock. Like nc "second hand" knowledge hae not experienced this personally.....

 

[coffeemama]

yep-I've had this happen many a time. Penelope our oegb almost went bye bye last year because we thought she was a he!

 

[Gonzo the Great]

Well, I just processed two of mine that were crowing. One was a little frizzle/silkie mix and was just a jerk grabbing every hen's tail feathers and being dragged around. It was all fun and games until they started drawing blood on a brown silkie. So he and another assumed rooster (was crowing, but horribly) were taken down to a local processor.

Come next morning, I start hearing sounds like attempted crowing. Phantoms from the excised hens? I look outside and see one of the BR's rearing up and screeching horribly. Jeez, my freezer is going to be full before I even get one egg. These guys just turned 20 weeks this week.

 

[Davaroo]

See this response elsewhere:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?pid=544508#p544508

 

[SpottedCrow]

I had a crowing hen...
She would do the rooster dance, crow and do the deed with her sister. She laid me one perfect baby yellow egg in the time that I had her.

 

[okto]

my head hen will make a noise that is pretty darn close to crowing, more like a long crow

she makes this noise a couple of times a day. the first time i heard it, i was standing next to the run and it scared the pants off me

i am pretty sure she is a hen though because she gives us about 5-6 eggs a week

 

[chickeepoo]

Thanks- I had heard tales, and I do have young hens coming along who I hope will NOT display this behavior, but who knows… Interestingly, while I was logged off and with my friend on the phone, she stopped talking, gasped and said one of HER hens was acting very "male" just then to another hen outside her window, although it was "Mission Impossible". I guess this isn't as uncommon as we thought.

 

[EweSheep]

Had a black aussie gal that did that, she laid an egg for me for eight months before she decided to do some gender bender on me one morning by crowing. I gave her to a friend and she crowed her heart out and never laid an egg since then. She lived for anotehr two years before a coon got a hold of her one night.

So its not impossible for hens to crow if there is no roo around.