Hen imitating a rooster?

[sianara]

If it's the black one you're asking about and it's 3 months old in those pictures, I'd say it's a female.

 

[Lobzi]

Yes, she is about 4 months now. No eggs yet but still no comb and no spurs...just taken to crowing a little especially when she is separated from Roo and he is crowing too. It is as if she is answering him. Knowing Chickie, she is not going to let Roo out do her on anything. She is a real character. Also, Roo is her only Chicken role model so Im really not that surprised when she acts as little like him.

 

[SpottedCrow]

IMO, she's a she...
A guy would have a bigger comb and wattles already.

Both sexes have combs and wattles. Spurs don't usually show up right away either...usually when they're around a year or so.

 

[Lobzi]

Thank you for your responses. I was just a little bit worried. I have been treating her like a she for a while now. If she was a he I would have preferred getting a hen as a companion.

 

[Lobzi]

I was just told by a person on another chicken forum that her hormones are probably all screwed up and that she is not a healthy hen....do you think so? Will she ever be healthy again and go back to being "normal"?

 

[sianara]

Quote:
Personally, I wouldn't worry about it. She's probably just crowing as an imitation because he's her only other chicken buddy. My bantam hen that crowed still laid eggs and the crowing only lasted a short time. I have a 4 year old standard sized hen that regularly mounts two of the other hens, doesn't crow AND still lays eggs regularly. Sometimes the unusual is just that - unusual - and nothing to get really concerned about. Give it time and see what happens...

 

[Lobzi]

Thank you Thank you THANK YOU!!! I just can not understand people who like to deliver "doom and gloom". I prefer to think she is just not going to let Roo show her up on anything. She is such a 2000's chick!

 

[micdav]

I have been happily reading your posts about "male" behavior in hens! I have a Rhode Island Red that is 16 months old and just started "mounting" my other hens and fighting with them. (we had a rooster that we got rid of a couple of months ago) She is still laying but a friend of mine said she was turning into a rooster? I think she is just agressive and am not going to worry about her! Mom of 18.

 

[Lobzi]

Quote:
That same person who informed me that my hen was not "healthy" and having a change in hormones, also said that sex change is NOT possible, which makes sense to me, at least without an operation!

 

[sianara]

Quote:
Oh, you're very welcome. I have found over time that sometimes some people just don't know what the heck they're talking about - but that doesn't seem to stop them from talking!

A few years back a neighbor (who I didn't really know) showed me when I was walking by one day, her broody hen that was raising 10 chicks. This hen was white and she was convinced (because the old timer that gave her the hen told her it was) that the hen was a leghorn. The hen had a rose comb and most white leghorn hens have a single comb and do NOT have any broody instincts to speak of. It's been bred out of them to enhance their egg laying capability.

I told her I thought the hen might be a white rock instead of a leghorn but she got really insulted and disagreed. I wasn't being a know-it-all but I myself HAD white leghorns so I was very familiar with the breed. I wasn't trying to prove her wrong I was just to share the knowledge I had with her, that's all. But she didn't appreciate it and so I stopped explaining and continued on my merry way.

For many people, it's hard to admit they're wrong about something. I don't have that problem and I don't always assume I'm right either. However, I do read alot about chickens and I've had approximately 30 different breeds over the last several years so I do have some knowledge.

My father in law is in his late 80's and has told me several stories about when he "lived on the farm". Apparently, they had a hen once that turned into a rooster. I told him from what I have read of this phenomenon that what had actually happened was the hen grew tumors on the ovaries which made it seem as though it went through a gender change when in fact it was not a complete biological change at all eg. the hen couldn't now fertilize eggs! He was interested in my explanation but still "preferred" to tell his story his way.