My hen is acting like a rooster?!

[sagehound]

I think he might be a white plymouth rock so I will look for the saddle feathers as he/she gets older. Thank you all very much for the information.

 

[getaclue]

If it's a rooster, the feathers around the neck will become more defined as hackle feathers, which tend to be pointier than those on the hen. The tail feathers will develop out, and tell the tale as well.

 

[Helloworld]

Thats a roo. Notice how it takes center attention to you? Wattles and comb a head of the others. Yep.. a newbie roo going nuts lol. And beautiful. He has a few saddle feathers in first pic on the left of tail.

 

[jolenesdad]

On another note @sagehound your coop is STUNNING. Do you have photos of the setup anywhere?

 

[Helloworld]

Lol I was fixing to ask the same about your coop!

 

[coach723]

Agree, your coop or run looks awesome. He's a he, also in the first picture, the bird directly behind him is possibly also a cockerel. Very hard to tell, and don't know the breed, but it also has large red wattles and red comb compared to all others visible. Hopefully a hen, but I'd keep an eye on that one too. Would LOVE to see pictures of your set up!

 

[JedJackson]

The white bird is a cockerel. I think the red/orange bird right behind him in the first picture might be a cockerel, too. He is mostly blocked out by the white bird in the picture. Photos of that bird would help us confirm or deny my suspicion.

You have to do what's right for you in regards to surprise cockerels. You could keep him if it is allowed where you live and you actually want a cockerel, you could eat him, or you can advertise to give him to someone.

 

[chuckachucka]

That happens very rarely and nearly always when the hen is at the end of laying age. The ovary is either damaged or failing which messes up the hormones.

If one your age crows it is a rooster

One of my hens started crowing at age one year for a few weeks while she was off lay after raising chicks. Then she went back to laying and quit crowing.

Another pullet I used to have was definitely female looking, but did not lay. At nine months she started crowing occasionally and even tried mounting other girls. Then almost a year old she started laying and stopped all the weirdness. So it can happen to younger birds due to hormone imbalances I believe. But in the Ops case it is just a cockerel.

 

[sourland]

I agree with both Coach and Jed in that the white bird is a cockerel, and that the bird behind him in the first picture is very likely a cockerel also.

 

[ButtonquailGirl14]

boy for sure... can we get a better pic of the orange one?