hen acting like rooster?

[CaliforniaDreaming]

Hello I am new to this and just got my first flock a week ago. The rooster I bought from a different location but I have 6 hens all bantam mixes that didn't have a rooster with them for a long time. One of my hens keeps picking on two others and mounting them like a rooster, and the actual rooster doesn't seem to care that she is doing that. Is this normal? Any advice would be great! Thanks

 

[chooks4life]

Yeah, it's pretty normal. Common enough anyway.

That said, if you want to be sure it's not a cockerel rather than a hen, you'd need to post a pic.

I've had a few definite hens, fertile laying females, who crowed, grew proper spurs, mated with other hens, etc... All the typical rooster behavior... But they were definitely female. They all came from different genetic backgrounds too, very divergent.

Best wishes.

 

[dave3003102]

Hard to say without seeing any picture.

 

[23Sandreef]

I have got a roo hen too! Is now about seven months old. Seems to have inherited
Male plumage definitely lays eggs.idea of mounting a hen is a little different. Fluffs up neck ruff. Sticks neck straight out, then head down runs at speed at the hen. In the last week has looked like a rooster and has the beginning of spurs. Has a rather quiet crow. Desperately wants to spend time with the hen who hatched her. On several occaisions has laid an egg in the nest where broody mum is spending time getting persecuted by our rooster and the other hens. Is a Barnvelder lite Sussex cross will keep anything I need to know please thanks Beth Tasmania

 

[keesmom]

I have got a roo hen too! Is now about seven months old. Seems to have inherited
Male plumage definitely lays eggs.idea of mounting a hen is a little different. Fluffs up neck ruff. Sticks neck straight out, then head down runs at speed at the hen. In the last week has looked like a rooster and has the beginning of spurs. Has a rather quiet crow. Desperately wants to spend time with the hen who hatched her. On several occaisions has laid an egg in the nest where broody mum is spending time getting persecuted by our rooster and the other hens. Is a Barnvelder lite Sussex cross will keep anything I need to know please thanks Beth Tasmania

A picture would really help here.

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

I got a pic of her this morning.

 

[Coop de Grille]

I have the opposite. I have two roos (brothers) that have been sitting on eggs, and acting just like the ladies when they are in the nest box.

 

[dave3003102]

Its a female and will be laying soon (if she is not).

 

[chooks4life]

I have got a roo hen too! Is now about seven months old. Seems to have inherited
Male plumage definitely lays eggs.idea of mounting a hen is a little different. Fluffs up neck ruff. Sticks neck straight out, then head down runs at speed at the hen. In the last week has looked like a rooster and has the beginning of spurs. Has a rather quiet crow. Desperately wants to spend time with the hen who hatched her. On several occaisions has laid an egg in the nest where broody mum is spending time getting persecuted by our rooster and the other hens. Is a Barnvelder lite Sussex cross will keep anything I need to know please thanks Beth Tasmania

Not sure what you're asking in your last sentence, but if you post a pic might help.

But, if your hen is fertile now but developing male plumage, chances are she will stop laying and eventually appear totally male, though she won't be fertile. Chances are she may not be fertile now, just laying eggs.

(Just as a menstruating woman can be infertile, an egg laying hen can also be infertile, just adding that in case you didn't know, sorry if you did. Some people recently have posted topics wherein they've stated that their hens must be fertile since they're laying, or their roosters must be fertile since they're mating, both statements being equally untrue).

If you're saying your rooster is persecuting your broody hen, then if I were you I'd consider replacing him; he clearly has an abysmal lack of fundamental instinct if he's harassing a broody hen in any way. You'd be surprised what sort of injuries a hen can get when a roo won't respect the nesting area. When she is brooding, or laying, are two of the most important times for a roo to show respect to her wishes, because those are physically very vulnerable times and a male jumping on a hen or attacking her in those states often results in terrible injuries. If he's bullying, she gets hurt worse because her nesting instincts keep her on the spot instead of avoiding her bully; if he's trying to mate, back injuries usually result for the hen, since she is not in a physical state of being able to safely mate on demand when laying. If she's just brooding, she's still likely to either get hurt or have her clutch destroyed by his behavior. If he's so disrespectful of an expectant mother, imagine how he'll treat the chicks.

This is why I don't breed males who abuse females, they end up costing you too much time and money, and it's strongly heritable. A great breeding male is worth nothing except meat value if he's destroying your females or offspring. After all you can't breed him without females which negates his breeder value. There are so many great roosters out there, why let a bad one take up space and feed and hens, passing on his genes when a better male could be, is my philosophy there. A truly good male is a good mate and father too as those are natural roles for a rooster, it's not like we're taking a species where the males have no paternal instincts and expecting them to exhibit them. Quite the opposite. Roosters are naturally supposed to have great family instincts, but we've largely bred them out and now often expect them to be terrible mates and fathers.

I got a pic of her this morning.

That looks 100% hen. So did all of mine that mated with other hens and showed typically male behaviors.

I have the opposite. I have two roos (brothers) that have been sitting on eggs, and acting just like the ladies when they are in the nest box.

LOL! Can you get pics?

I did have one very fertile male show maternal instincts when he was condemned to be culled. I put him in the waiting cage overnight, from which we take them the next day and cull them, and all of a sudden he wanted to brood the eggs his favorite hen laid in the nest. (I always put hens in with them in the waiting cage to keep them happy). He'd been a breeder for a few years so it wasn't like he'd lacked the opportunity to do this before, he simply hadn't.

I also had a few roos who would always join their GFs on the nests and try to look after the eggs after the hen left them. I doubt a rooster could brood like males of some other species though because they don't tend to shed the relevant breast feathers and likely couldn't warm the eggs to the right temperature, though they can certainly snuggle chicks like any hen can, and some of them do that.

Best wishes.

 

[Coop de Grille]

Quote:

Here ya go... I started a thread on it a few days ago, complete with pics and a short video.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/875432/gender-confused-rooster