Do male and female spar?

[Roxannemc]

I have 2 male lav amercauna roos and one that look just like my other 2 females
.this morning a male and what i thought was a hen were jumping at each other with neck feathers up .Will hens do that too.?

 

[chickensman98]

Hello, i have two roosters as well, but in all the years i have had chickens i have never had a male and female spar. I think that you have 3 roosters instead of two because only males spar with other males and females only spar with females.....SURPRISE!!

 

[NYREDS]

It happens. Usually with young birds or a male introduced t an established group of females, but it happens.

 

[cafarmgirl]

My boss hen, when younger, would occasionally spar with my rooster when she felt the need to put him in his place. Not so much now that she's older but she didn't take any baloney from him when she was young!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

If I put a new male in the pen, especially a young one, the head hen of that pen (sounds like a poem, lol) will usually jump at and spar with the newby--just to make sure that he knows who is boss. Once he bows to her authority the sparring is reduced, and eventually stops.

 

[donrae]

If I put a new male in the pen, especially a young one, the head hen of that pen (sounds like a poem, lol) will usually jump at and spar with the newby--just to make sure that he knows who is boss. Once he bows to her authority the sparring is reduced, and eventually stops.

This is my experience also. Older hen kicks young guy's butt, then all is good.

If you're concerned about the gender of your bird, get a profile shot and start a thread on the "what breed or gender" section. be sure to say how old the bird is, that's important when sexing birds.

 

[ramirezframing]

I have had a silkie hen kill a few of my silkie roosters

 

[wood&feathers]

Yes hens will spar males. My young cubalayas all spar each other, all the time. They are establishing pecking order. If indeed you have a pullet with a bunch of brothers, she will spar to decide who is "beneath" her.

Ameracaunas are real tough to tell male/female. You might have a bunch of cockerels.

 

[fisherlady]

I had to chuckle when reading the replies because we also have seen the 'older hens setting the young rooster right' on many, many occasions and I never fail to get a kick out of seeing it, or watching the young cockerel take off like a cartoon road runner when he realizes he's picked on the wrong bird!

Our young hens frequently spar, with each other and with their male hatch mates or others in the flock of a similar age. Tonight my DH and I were in the coop when one of our 18 week old pullets got mad at a 21 week old cockerel who wanted to scratch in the same area she did.... neck feathers flared and she went right after him, and he did flare and fight back, but what was amazing was that he eventually backed down from her, even though he is a breed that is nearly twice her size and she doesn't reach mid chest on him!... I'm surprised she didn't resort to kicking him in the shins!

 

[Pollito Pelon]

I've had male and female spar
New roo introduce to dominant hen