Hen started crowing

[bhawk-23]

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!

Interesting. She is still top hen and has not crowed again in quite some time now. I wonder if you are on to something. She has kept the peace dealing with the addition of 4 new pullets and 3 broody hens acting hormonal. Knock on wood the peace keeps up

 

[Crazy Mother Hen]

I love this topic. There are so many factors influencing the hens who crow.
Over the past 13 years I have raised and cared for a flock (4 to 30 birds) in two settings.. rural acreage, and suburban quarter acre. I had five roosters over this time and three hens that crowed.
The latest hen that is crowing presently is a Coronation Sussex (Evie) who my daughter and I raised with one of her brothers (male chick from the same brood) from two weeks old. They were inseparable until the young cockerel became an (inexperienced) mating roo. I didn't have an old roo to teach him manners and the head hen (Burky) is too old (13) and tired to confront him.
Well, Evie has a cross beak and she is a special hen, we think that her overy is damaged and that she has had a testosterone surge, because she also became agressive to the other hens and grew large comb and wattles. however, this is also how my head hen (RIR cross AustralOrp) developed into a dominant hen, she is now 13 years old and has spurs to make your eyes water.
I know this is a long story, but bare with me,
When we were on the 30 acre farm, we lost a our rooster to an Arial predator and he died defending his flock. Later that year the hen second in command (Pecky, Burky's daughter) started crowing. We figured it was a demonstration of dominance since there was no rooster running the show. Burky was quietly in control though and all followed her matronly wisdom. Pecky's crowing didnt last and she went back to laying eggs.
The next hen to start crowing was Little Barny (Barnevelder, Burky's other daughter crossed with our rooster 'Fluffy Bottom' who died defending the flock.) She was also showing dominance to a new young rooster; telling him to stay in his place at the bottom of the flock. She was only game enough to do this when he was locked in his pen. She was so cheeky she would deliberately jump onto a picnic table right in front of his pen look him in the eye and crow. He ultimately became the head rooster with much opposition from the three head hens.
So all three of the hen's have had a lovely crow, although none of them have ever reached the ear splitting decibels that my roosters have reached. Evie has a beautiful harmony to her classic cock-a-doodle-do and all the children in the child care centre next door love to imitate. Our Roster however belts out ROO-ROOOOOOOO croak as he breaths back in.
The Hens who crow do not crow as often as the roos. Also I have never heard a hen crowing 2am.