Hen started crowing

[bhawk-23]

We have a 5+ year old EE hen who is flock leader. She is amazing! Calm, not a bully at all, but somehow manages to keep the peace for our flock of 8.

She has behaved like a rooster, calling the girls over for treats, eating last, following a moody hen around to stop any potential issues before they even start etc. for a couple years now. It started after our rooster passed and I figured she just stepped into his roll. I really don’t want to lose her as I know how fortunate we are to have such a level headed non aggressive peace keeper hen who still lays eggs in our flock.

Today, at 5:30 am, I heard a crow. I am fairly certain it is her. Especially because I noticed her spurs are becoming more pronounced in the last few days. But she is most definitely still laying. The only change is 4 new pullets were moved to the coop in a look but no touch situation 3 days ago. They vary in age from 5-11 weeks old. Could this have triggered crowing or was it just inevitable? Fortunately, she was not super loud and we are allowed roosters as long as there are no noise complaints.

The pullets are staying and so is she. I’m more curious about what could have caused this sudden crowing and what to expect moving forward. Any experiences are always appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[sourland]

Are you absolutely positive that the pullets are indeed 'pullets'?

 

[bhawk-23]

Are you absolutely positive that the pullets are indeed 'pullets'?

Hubs asked that also. None have any size nor redness to their comb/wattles, no saddle or hackle feathers to note and the crowing was loud enough that we agreed it was most likely coming from outside the coop and not inside(where the pullets are contained).

 

[LaFleche]

I once had an elderly La Flèche hen that was crowing and still laying eggs. She was teaching the younger males the ropes and kept the peace in her flock

As soon as one of the roosters was accepted by her ( she had high standards), her crowing stopped.

 

[bhawk-23]

I once had an elderly La Flèche hen that was crowing and still laying eggs. She was teaching the younger males the ropes and kept the peace in her flock

As soon as one of the roosters was accepted by her ( she had high standards), her crowing stopped.

It’s good to have standards! lol

We won’t intentionally be getting any Roos so I guess we may just be listening to Esther’s crow.

 

[BurbCoop]

Our head hen, a Buff Orpington, started crowing at one point. She quit laying around year two and it was obvious she had taken on the rooster role for a bit. Luckily the crowing was temporary and didn’t last long.

Funny enough, she started laying shortly thereafter, for about a month or so, then she shut down egg production completely

 

[Finchbreeder]

I have not seen Gender change in Chickens, but have in King quail, if there is no male for a period of time they get concerned with the mortality of the group. So the dominant one undergoes natural gender reassignment.
Only seen it 3 times in 40yrs, but nature is smart when it comes to preserving her species.

 

[SoCal Chicken Mama]

Crazy! (sex change) Like the Jurassic Park Dinosaurs.

My Buff Orpington barked like a dog for a few weeks. I kept running outside to see if one of the neighbor's (many) dogs had gotten into my yard.

Her latest new trick is treat stealing. In hot weather I put a pie tin of ice water and cherry tomatoes in the cop/run in the hottest part of the day. I put in 16 so they could each have 4. But my RIR got the first one, and Buffy chased her around the whole run until she got it, even though there were 15 more in the pan. Everyone joined in the chase. This was unusual. because the Orpington is so big and sweet that she usually gets picked on. And the RIR and EE are the ones who do the picking.

 

[bhawk-23]

Crazy! (sex change) Like the Jurassic Park Dinosaurs.

My Buff Orpington barked like a dog for a few weeks. I kept running outside to see if one of the neighbor's (many) dogs had gotten into my yard.

Her latest new trick is treat stealing. In hot weather I put a pie tin of ice water and cherry tomatoes in the cop/run in the hottest part of the day. I put in 16 so they could each have 4. But my RIR got the first one, and Buffy chased her around the whole run until she got it, even though there were 15 more in the pan. Everyone joined in the chase. This was unusual. because the Orpington is so big and sweet that she usually gets picked on. And the RIR and EE are the ones who do the picking.

We had a Buff Orpington named Buffy she was sweet as can be too. Our other Buff Orpington and lavender Orpington's, not so much. lol

Our girls will also chase for the treat even though there is plenty more sometimes. Makes no sense, but neither does pecking order when my girls are so damn spoiled.

 

[dearmeghann]

When our first cockerels started to crow, one of our hens croaked out her own crow. I wonder if your lady is trying to reaffirm her role of head hen, haha!