Laying hen now a roo???!!!

[mmartin508]

I brought home 5 baby chicks from the store, 4 California whites and one Rhode Island Red. 3 of the whites turned out to be roosters. Big combs, no eggs. I was getting only white eggs for about a week, then I gave all 3 roos to the gardener. Now, my one remaing white hen has a huge comb and no more eggs. Is this really possible?

 

[19hhbelgian]

So, she was laying before you gave the roos away, correct? A hen that is used to having boys around can get a little "mixed up" if the boys leave suddenly. I have a salmon Faverolle that was always with roos, then we got her and had no boys at the time. a couple days went by and she started trying to crow!!

She was not laying any eggs what so ever. After a while she settled in, and got used to not having any boys around... Started laying for me, and was a very prolific layer - an egg a day! So, your girl could be trying to take over the role of rooster - she should settle down after a while though. unless of course "she" wasn't the one laying the eggs!

 

[mmartin508]

Yes, I'm assuming it was her laying because the eggs were white, and I'm told by everyone that a white hen lays white eggs and a rhode island red hen will lay brown eggs. She used to have a tiny little comb. After I gave the roos away the egg laying stopped. I thought it was because they she was mad at the change, but it has been about 2 months since they have been gone, still no eggs from anyone and now the white hen has a huge comb. And she is looking at me the same way the roos used too. They used to tilt of cock their head to one side and walk towards me in what I took to be an aggressive manner. Now she is doing the same thing. I'm so confused......

 

[PrairieRain]

This happened with a local lady here (with her hen, actually) - she had an article in the paper about it. The medical explanation as I recall was that a hen may suffer damage to - I believe it was the ovaries. If the female hormones aren't being produced, then the male hormones can take over, and a previously laying hen can start behaving like a rooster. So, yes, apparently it can happen (though genetically it would still be a female).

 

[L*A*G*]

is she lonley? I agree with 19hhbelgian she might not like not haveing any more guys to admire her work.

 

[houndit]

Can you post a picture of your hen? Maybe we could tell if it is a hen or Rooster.

 

[mmartin508]

I guess she could be lonely for another roo? She has 2 other hens with her. I was thinking about getting more hens because the whole point was for the eggs, and I'm not getting any. I even put store bought eggs in the boxes to try and get them to sit on, but nothing seems to help. I don't know what to do......what do you guys think? Should I get another rooster, or just some more hens, or just wait it out a little longer?

 

[Elite Silkies]

Quote:
What color are her earlobes? The earlobes determine the egg color. So, you can not determine what color egg a hen will lay by her feathering color.

If you could post of picture I am sure someone can help you out. Some hens have larger combs and wattles.

 

[ArizonaDesertChicks]

Is it possible that one of the "roos" you gave away was actually laying the white eggs? If your california white hen was already laying, she shouldn't have had a tiny comb. It could be that she was a later bloomer than your other one and just now is getting ready to lay (the comb gets larger & redder before the chickens start laying).

This is a picture of one of my white leghorn pullets just after she started laying - note the large comb - california whites are 1/2 leghorn and should have large combs too.

This is a few weeks before she started laying - comb still small & pink

 

[mmartin508]

I didn't even think about that. See how helpful you are. I don't know much about chickens, obviously. I thought a large comb meant rooster. I must have given away the laying hen thinking it was a rooster. The first picture you posted could be 2 of my 3 chickens. They look just like that. I will go take a picture to post, because I'm also not sure of the breed of the 3rd.

And where are the earlobes and what do they look like? Are they where I think they should be? Man, that sounds really stupid doesn't it?