Do hens raise their hackles??? And another question

[PastaChickenBoo]

So basically we have five pullets close to their point of lay. One of them I saw raising her (hopefully) hackles at another chicken. (She's a mean chicken.) Does this necessarily mean she's a roo, or do ticked off hens also raise their hackles? BTW the breed is a silver laced wyandotte. Are hen hackle feathers in that breed generally pointy?

 

[keesmom]

Pullets/hens will raise hackles as well. Can you post a picture of yours so we can help sex him/her?

 

[speckledhen]

So basically we have five pullets close to their point of lay. One of them I saw raising her (hopefully) hackles at another chicken. (She's a mean chicken.) Does this necessarily mean she's a roo, or do ticked off hens also raise their hackles? BTW the breed is a silver laced wyandotte. Are hen hackle feathers in that breed generally pointy?

ABSOLUTELY, they do! Hens can fight like roosters and often do. Hackles on hens are not pointy, but the lacing on the SLWs may make them appear that way. Males in that breed have black hackles, not nicely laced ones.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Pullets/hens will raise hackles as well. Can you post a picture of yours so we can help sex him/her?

X2, at this age gender will be readily apparent as cockerels are quite differently feathered than pullets

 

[drumstick diva]

x3

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Oh gosh I had a SLW hen take on a cockerel last fall. What a bit...ty she was to him. Hackles everywhere but down on that old girl. He eventually started to out weigh her and grow a pair ...ahem ...of spurs. She had to back down.
Crazy old Wyandotte.

 

[KentuckyRooster]

Oh yes they can! My silkies like to get nasty with dogs, big rhode island reds, and pretty much anything else they decide is a good target the little boogers. Hackles everywhere. Ever seen a tiny silkie hen whack the crap out of a huge roo? Hilarious.

I have a dog who runs my birds and occasionally they turn on her. Poor dog. She just walks off luckily for the silkies. If only they knew that dog protects them.

 

[PastaChickenBoo]

X2, at this age gender will be readily apparent as cockerels are quite differently feathered than pullets

Okay. Can you post a pic of a SLW hen and an SLW rooster? I'd like to compare.

 

[PastaChickenBoo]

Pullets/hens will raise hackles as well. Can you post a picture of yours so we can help sex him/her?

Sorry. I haven't taken pictures of them for months. (I'm lazy.)

 

[speckledhen]

Oh gosh I had a SLW hen take on a cockerel last fall. What a bit...ty she was to him. Hackles everywhere but down on that old girl. He eventually started to out weigh her and grow a pair ...ahem ...of spurs. She had to back down.
Crazy old Wyandotte.

They are tough ladies, aren't they? My original flock had three of them. When I got a rooster, they all attacked him and bloodied his comb until he laid down the law to them. Bad gals, those three! LOL.

I misspoke about the hackles on the roosters. They come in with lots of solid black when they are young, which is what you notice first when trying to sex them, but later, the hackles are very white, not laced like the hens.

here is a pair from a location in England that shows the differences as adults.

https://cheshirepoultry.co.uk/silver-laced-wyandotte-bantams/