Dominate hen...... Need a roo?

[chick-a-dee1984]

I bought four 20 week old pullets two weeks ago, and I don't have a rooster. The last five or so days, one of my pullets has became very dominate, she flogs the other girls at times and she even try's to crow, as silly as that sounds! Would a roo make her worse? Or help her?

 

[LRH97]

You're sure it's a pullet? Because pullets don't crow ya know!

Anyway, if you got a roo, he would most likely work his way to the top of the pecking order,after being picked on a little by the other pullets. That pullet just sounds like shes just a little aggressive and even if you did get a rooster she would still probably be head hen. He might even her out though.

 

[chick-a-dee1984]

This is her! she don't crow loudly, but it is a crow! She is last to roost after calling the other girls into the coop at night. I'm not sure what's going on with her. She don't crow in the morning either, it's at dusk. It's hilarious!

 

[Ridgerunner]

It’s fairly normal if you don’t have a dominant rooster in the flock for one of the hens to take on part of that role. She might break up fights and keep peace in her flock, watch for danger, or even call them over for food. I’ve never had one crow but I’ve had one that would go through the mating ritual with another hen, usually a pullet. That doesn’t mean she was twisted or warped.

The mating ritual is not just about sex, it’s a dominance thing. She was reinforcing her dominance over that pullet. When there was an immature cockerel in the flock that tried to mate another pullet or hen she would knock him off to show her dominance over him. Eventually he matured enough to dominate her, but it took many months, almost a year.

What you are describing sounds perfectly normal to me. It’s chickens being chickens.

 

[chick-a-dee1984]

I have been told that if there is no rooster, then most of the time the dominate hen don't lay eggs. Is that right?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don’t have a clue about most of the time. My dominant hen did lay while that juvenile rooster grew up. But that’s one specific hen. That’s not a statistically relevant number.

 

[chick-a-dee1984]

Thanks for the info! I have so much to learn!