Females are getting male feathers

[Pfauenfreund]

I have seen such pictures of peahens as the one below that an old hen which has past the days of laying eggs starts to get male feathers, due to the hormone change. I never had the chance to have such an old hen.

But how extreme it can be you will see on the pictures of our oldest running duck “Susi”. Already a lot of her sons and daughters are passed away, but she is still in good shape. One year ago she stopped to lay eggs and today the looks nearly like a male. Below you see an actual picture and one when she was young.



Susi today

Susi when she was young

 

[sourland]

A friend of mine had a RIR hen that at 5 or 6 years of age transitioned into a rooster.