Is this a roo?

[bossynbella]

This is my 5yr old (I thought hen)we got her last spring from a lady at church and She said she was sure it was a hen ( she gave us 20 some chickens) but suddenly she has started growing a longer tail and more rooster looking feathers. She is getting spurs on her legs and sounds a little like a kid trying to play the trumpet. Do hens do these things? how can one just change like this when they are that old???

I will try to post the pic this will be the first time I have posted a picture. Hope it works

 

[ella]

This should be helpful for you

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKChange.html

 

[devora]

Wow, that is amazing! Absolutely fascinating.

 

[Farmer Brown]

I think this is happening to one of our hens. She's 3. She hasn't been laying lately. In fact, we thought she may be eggbound. She's been acting strange. I saw her mount one of our other hens. Well, last night, I noticed that she's suddenly growing spurs. I'm going to watch her more closely now. This is so crazy!

 

[ChickenWisperer]

If you don't have a roo, this is VERY very common among the Alpha hen.

My 5 year old BA has done it since she was 2/ish, whenever we didn't have roos.

Most will mount other hens, and their combs will get bigger. Some grow spurs, "strange feathers", and attempt to crow.

 

[Farmer Brown]

The funny thing is, we do have a roo. He's a banty and she's a standard. We have had Cosmo (the roo) for about 2 years. Clem, the hen in question, has always been somewhere in the middle of the pecking order. 16 chickens total.

 

[donrae]

Now I want to see the pic! Try reposting it?

 

[bossynbella]

sorry donrae I don't even have the picture on here anymore. My little india passed away last year. Over the three years we had her she stayed with the darker rooster coloring for two of the years then suddenly lost her beautiful coloring and turned red. She also started laying eggs again her last year here.