Help! My hen is mounting my other hens

[PartyPlanningCommittee]

Hi BYC! I’ve read a few threads about this issue on here, but I’m still not sure how to handle. I have a flock of 4 hens - 3 that are 1.5 years and one that is closer to 3 years. Her name is Jan (now called Jan the man). She’s a silver laced Wyandotte. I got them back in March, and a few weeks ago noticed the other 3 were missing feathers on the back of their head, with the Buff Orp having it the worst. Then 2 weeks ago I saw Jan mounting the Buff like a rooster, pinning her head down and...going at it. I put her in chicken jail for 4 nights hoping to return-set the pecking order, and reintroduced her a week ago. Well tonight I saw it happen again, and the poor Buff is looking more scraggly than ever with a bloody spot on her neck and wing feathers broken. Is it time for chicken jail again for longer? I feel like that approach didn’t really work. Time to rehome?

 

[chickenlittle21]

A lesbian hen? I wonder she is actually fertilizing the eggs. That would be weird. Are you sure shes not a rooster? Can I see a picture of her?

 

[Sapphire Sebright]

Sometimes, in an all-hen flock, one of the hens will... sort of become a rooster. One of their ovaries, I think it was, will kind of change into a testicle and start producing testosterone. I assume that this is to take the place of a rooster in order to keep the flock going.
It's very weird and happens pretty rarely, but it does happen.
You may want to rehome her -- er, him... she could also start crowing at some point, perhaps.

 

[PartyPlanningCommittee]

A lesbian hen? I wonder she is actually fertilizing the eggs. That would be weird. Are you sure shes not a rooster? Can I see a picture of her?

She’s definitely a hen - she laid an egg last week! She slowed down after this behavior started though. I’ve read that it’s a pretty common dominance display from hens high on the pecking order, but it’s turning into bullying now

 

[PartyPlanningCommittee]

Sometimes, in an all-hen flock, one of the hens will... sort of become a rooster. One of their ovaries, I think it was, will kind of change into a testicle and start producing testosterone. I assume that this is to take the place of a rooster in order to keep the flock going.
It's very weird and happens pretty rarely, but it does happen.
You may want to rehome her -- er, him... she could also start crowing at some point, perhaps.

She has started being more vocal too!! Wow.

 

[2 many chickens]

I had a hen do this, she stopped once I added a rooster. She still acts like a boy tho, she'll run and peck another hen in the face while the rooster mounts the hen being pecked. It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen. She's 7yrs old, so I don't have the heart to throw her out. She's pretty chill, otherwise.

 

[chickenlittle21]

She’s definitely a hen - she laid an egg last week! She slowed down after this behavior started though. I’ve read that it’s a pretty common dominance display from hens high on the pecking order, but it’s turning into bullying now

Can I see a picture? She might be a sex changing chicken. A sex changing chicken is a chicken that changes sex in the middle of their life. They are very rare and can not actually fertilize eggs.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Hens will dominance mount other hens. While disturbing and causing feather damage it is not uncommon.

I tend to remove ones that continue to behave this way.

 

[chickenlittle21]

Sometimes, in an all-hen flock, one of the hens will... sort of become a rooster. One of their ovaries, I think it was, will kind of change into a testicle and start producing testosterone. I assume that this is to take the place of a rooster in order to keep the flock going.
It's very weird and happens pretty rarely, but it does happen.
You may want to rehome her -- er, him... she could also start crowing at some point, perhaps.

It actually happens when one of their ovaries I think are damaged. Like I said, that's a sex changing chicken

 

[PartyPlanningCommittee]

Can I see a picture? She might be a sex changing chicken. A sex changing chicken is a chicken that changes sex in the middle of their life. They are very rare and can not actually fertilize eggs.

Here she / he is!