Hermaphrodite hen???

[ByeEyed]

She might have a bad ovary as well, I've seen them go rooster if there egg laying bits aren't proper.

In all seriousness, I really hope not! I can't have a rooster where I live and Madeline is my FAVORITE (even though all my girls are amazing and super friendly).

I'll keep an eye on her. If any further changes, I'll update!

 

[Chickassan]

Well technically you don't have a rooster lol! You just have a hen that might have a slightly wonky ovary. She's still laying so it can't be too bad if that's even the case here.So worst case she might let out a little crow now and again, shes still a hen so you arent breaking any rules right? Plus anyone who says anything is insensitive it would be like belittleing a lady with pcos for growing a little facial hair.

 

[Chandra Prater]

Hens growing spurs, crowing, and overall taking on rooster qualities is such a weird phenomenon. I liked this source the best.
http://www.urbanchickenpodcast.com/ucp-episode-018/

 

[Onetuffchick]

I don't know the answers to any of these questions, but got quite a kick out of them...

 

[Cajun_MikeR]

We had a BSL hen from our breeding that did more than dip a toe in the rooster pool. She laid eggs for a little while, then her production died off. The rooster that was with them was aggressive towards my wife, so he went into the pot. This little BSL hen then started to get a larger comb and grew out her wattles...then started to crow. Shortly thereafter she started taking on all the rooster roles, including breeding. When I slaughtered roos recently, she was on the list.

When I opened her up, her ovary was dead as was the whole egg laying tract. She had an oddly shaped teste on the opposite side. She had some other funky things going on internally (some of her organs just didn't look right compared to other healthy birds I've slaughtered), so we didn't save her meat. We didn't try incubating any eggs from the hens to prove fertility, but she was doing everything a roo was supposed to do without any of the nasty attitude (which we expect from all of the males that were out of her sire).

I'm not saying yours will be doing the same, but if you notice her egg production stop, then be prepared for full on "Roo mode."

 

[Granny Hatchet]

My peeps, I am 54 yrs . My grandfather told of these hens. I dont know that its in the bible but he would quote it anyway as saying, "there is nothing worse then a crowing hen or a whistling woman". He would cull them and say they were bad luck. My grandmother knew better then this as she would fuss at him and tell him they did that because there was no rooster . He would also kill them if they squatted in front of him. That seemed to be the mindset 100 yrs ago . I wonder what it will be in another 100 yrs. ?

 

[Angie1176]

Hello, I'm new to the group. My name is angela. I currently have several hens and roosters. I am concerned about one though. She/he is about a year old. Up until about a month ago I would have sworn it was a hen. But she recently started crowing and acting like a rooster. However, I have seen her mount hens, and also get mounted by the other roosters. She hasn't ever layed any eggs though. Could she be a hermaphrodite?

 

[rebrascora]

Hi Angela.

Photos of the chicken in question would help, but she may have an issue with her ovaries if she is a hen but has never laid or it could just be a very slow maturing rooster.
Mature hens can start crowing and mounting other hens but in my experience they have also laid eggs. I currently have a leghorn cross who is second in command and she is regularly mounting several of her subordinate flock mates and still one of my best layers but there is no cockerel in with that flock. The same flock leader, Tasha, was crowing a few months ago but I haven't caught her at it recently. She is also actively laying but doesn't mount other hens.