Lonely or in "henopause"?

[OzarkEgghead]

I started out Spring of 2019 with 13 hens. A few of the oldest passed away naturally throughout the year but, unfortunately, we got hit HARD several times by coyotes. By October, it felt like my coop was in the midst of the Agatha Christie novel, "And Then There Was None" because, of the original 13, I had only one hen left...a Black Australorp named Onyx.

I didn't get any new chicks because they wouldn't have been old enough to acclimate to the coop before the bitter temps set in & I don't have any way to run electric to the coop for a heat lamp. Onyx seemed perfectly content by herself & free ranges every day so she had lots of stimulation & interaction with my horses & barn cats. She stopped laying eggs in November but I didn't see it as all that unusual due to the shortened days.

Recently, she has started crowing like a rooster. I've heard it 2 or 3 times now. I didn't think to look to see if she's growing spurs & she's already out ranging around so I can't look until she roosts again this evening. Is this a product of her being lonely & trying to call out in hopes another chicken is nearby & will keep her company? Or, at age 3.5 yrs, is this an indication that she has reached "henopause", will no longer produce eggs even when the days lengthen again & has started to take on some male characteristics due to the decrease in egg producing estrogen?

 

[SueT]

Hens can crow, and you may be right about her calling out for another chicken. When I isolate my hen in broody jail, I hear her crow....
Yours will probably lay eggs again in the spring if she is in good health, but less than last year.
Good luck, keep us updated!

 

[ChickenCanoe]

When a hen starts to crow, they could have lost function of their one ovary.
I would still try to get her friends. Lone chickens usually don't fare well.
Spurs are really no indication. While most breeds' hens don't have them, some like Mediterranean class hens do. Almost every one of my hens have spurs. The older hens' spurs can be 2 inches long.

 

[aart]

Have had a hen crow during her winter break,
did duets with the flock cock for a few months,
stopped crowing when she started laying again.

 

[cmom]

She has probably taken the winter off and may resume in the spring. She may not lay every day and you may get only 2/3 eggs a week from her when she does start laying. That's usually what happens with my older girls. She could probably use a couple of buddies as birds are mostly flock creatures. Good luck and have fun...