Hen to rooster??

[escripps]

Hello everyone!!

I have 7 hens that are almost 1 year old. There are 2 Delaware's, 2 french cuckoo Marans, 2 crested cream legbars. and 1 white crested polish.

My Delaware marans, and polish all lay tegusrlt6, but the cream legbars have been very sporadic maybe only 6 eggs total from both in the 4 months they have been laying.

Recently, one of the legbars as become very aggressive towards the polish and has tried mounting her. Today, she started crowing.

I have raised chickens before, I had 10 hens for 4 years before my living situation changed and i rehome them, but have never had a hen act like a rooster.

Is this behavioral or physical? I've just been reading about sex reversal in chickens. Is there anything I can do to encourage the legbars to lay? I normally get 5+ eggs each a week from the Delaware's and Marans and 3-4 from the polish, but none for either legbar.


Sorry for the long post and any advise would be great!!

Ps. They get a laying crumb and I add ultra egg supplement , oyster shell, black soilder fly larvae, and forage for an hour or more every day in the yard.

 

[azygous]

While it does happen that a hen's ovary will quit functioning causing androgen hormones to be released that affect secondary sex characteristics causing a noticeable sex change, it's very rare and usually requires a very stressful event to trigger it.

That said, it isn't uncommon for hens to have secondary male characteristics such as aggressive behavior, crowing, and large comb and wattles. This is because female and male sex cells coexist in a chicken's body. Chickens can be sexually ambiguous without a sex change, just as in humans and other species. In fact, no species is cut and dried, black and white completely female or completely male. There's a lot of cross-over, but most of this goes unnoticed by us.

Efficient laying depends on several factors - adequate nutrition, a stress-free environment, and being physically healthy and disease free. If any of those is out of whack, you're going to see egg production drop off.

 

[escripps]

I cant think of any stressful events that have happened besides the rain storm we had a month back, but the other chickens are laying. It is just the 2 legbars that dont lay regularly and then one acting like a rooster. The coop is secure, our dog helps patrol the yard and there has been no evidence of any wildlife trying to get in.

Hopefully it will resolve itself.... I am getting more chicks in june and they will join the flock around September. I dont want my rooster hen to pick on them!

 

[azygous]

Roosters are no more likely to bully chicks than hens are, or "rooster hens". Usually, younger adult chicks between a year old and age three are more likely to be bullies to chicks than older chickens. It also depends on individual temperament if they end up being bullies.

A lot will depend on how and when you integrate new chicks with the adult flock. Chicks integrated while still small meld into the flock more easily than waiting until chicks are full grown to integrate, the opposite of common wisdom.