Do hens raise their hackles/ruff when they spar?

[MrsClucky]

I just adopted 5 new hens (oh please, oh please). I was told they were 6-7 months old, Bantam mixes. They all LOOK like girls to me but one of them is sparring through the fence with another hen. She's acting very roosterish: her neck feathers are all puffed out, and she's flying at the other hen feet first.

None of my other hens have ever done that, just the roos. She has feathery feet but I picked her up and didn't feel so much as a bump where the spurs would be. At this age, she'd be starting to get spurs and crow if she was really a he, wouldn't s/he?

If this turns out to be another rooster (I have three already), my husband will divorce me. Or an angry mob of neighbors will come to the house with torches...

 

[Mahonri]

I've seen standard hens beat the beejeebers out of roos before. Yup they raise their hackles and sometimes they FIGHT!

 

[gritsar]

My girls look more like roosters when they fight than the roosters themselves ever did. The hackles are up, the feet are flying and the stink eye is taken to a whole new level.

 

[Godsgrl]

Just today I saw a BR hen fence fighting a cochin roo. The hen was all puffed up, and FIGHTING!! I swear, if you didn't know better.... LOL

 

[MrsClucky]

Thank you all so much for your replies - I'm so relieved!

I've lived through The Crying Game twice...

 

[chickensducks&agoose]

Since we got rid of our last rooster, our cuckoo maran has been acting a bit 'rooish'... popping up her neck feathers and going after the other hens, even the goose!!!

 

[skywatcher]

I have a flock of 30 amber star hens hybred and those hen raise their hackles just like a roo and jump at another hen I see this occur every other day and some times the hen jumps at the rooster # 2 must be the ornery rhode island red in them lol

 

[silkiechicken]

At times a mean old hen can be worse than a rooster. Had a broody with a chick go full force hackles high and feet forward... right into a hawks face while the rooster stood in the bushes screaming his head off.

 

[vfem]

Quote:
Oh yeah... my TINIEST hen will take down my roo in a heart beat. Somehow she's the smallest one I have, and the youngest... but she rules over the roo! If another hen screams from him mating, she'll run over and tackle him. At least someone keeps him in his place.

 

[Ugly Cowboy]

YES!!! LOL I've had a confused ol Rhody hen run at me before, hackles up, kickin like crazy, etc... She ended up makin some good chicken and dumplins after the second attack, I figured she was just havin a moment the first time, apparently she was just losin it LOL! Really, they can be meaner then roo's sometimes, they just usually dont got spurs to dig in ya...