Hen turning into a roo?

[Riverbend Farms]

My 3 y/o barred rock hen Piper did a mini crow today. It was like a normal roosters crow but really short and a lot quieter. Is she turning into a rooster or doing a hen-crow?

 

[cluckmecoop7]

Sometimes that happens. It’s nothing to worry about. Hens can crow, too. Especially if you don’t have a rooster in the flock.

 

[Isadora]

It's not possible for her to actually turn into a legitimate rooster. If you don't have a rooster, it's possible she's trying to be the dominant one in the flock and will take on some rooster characteristics, like crowing and bossing the other hens around.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

If you don't have a rooster then its not unusual for a hen to attempt to crow. Seems kind of odd she would start up suddenly at that age though. Has anything changed in your flock recently?

 

[Riverbend Farms]

No, but they have started to get really loud when they all are laying eggs.

 

[cluckmecoop7]

No, but they have started to get really loud when they all are laying eggs.

That’s also normal. It’s called the “egg song”. Usually when one starts they all join in.

 

[IreneArm]

I put eggs from my other hens under a broody hen I had, and two hatched. The mama hen is back to laying eggs! One of the chicks was an Americauna-Buff Orpington mix, and he was crowing from week 8. I gave him to a friend who knew a friend who wanted a rooster, so he's fine. His sister, a Rhode Island Red-Buff Orpington mix, was depressed after he disappeared. She started looking more and more like a rooster. She walked like a rooster, her comb and wattles grew, and she developed masculine feathers. Also, her spurs are bigger than the rest of my hens' spurs. She had crowed multiple times per day. She is the second lowest on the pecking order; her biological mother enjoys being the lowest. Her father has tried to mount her several times, and I have seen her brooding in the nesting boxes. She didn't look like a hen until her brother left. She is currently 20 weeks old. Today, I saw her trying to mount two other hens. Her father didn't like that, so he tried to attack, but she got away. I was letting my chickens out, and I heard clucking from under the porch stairs. My rooster and my crowing hen were trying to fight! I was considering giving her to someone else, but I don't know if she would fulfill the obligations of a rooster.