My hen is crowing! What the heck?

[jhwest]

I bought five chicks from a hatchery about 3 and a half months ago. They are supposed to all be female but for the last few days my Dominique, Madame Mim, has been crowing. She stretches her neck out, flaps her wings and does a hug "caw-CAW" at the top of her voice. She is definitely the dominant chicken and can be a bit of a bully and I've read that crowing hens are possible. But now I'm wondering if maybe she's just a rooster after all (Monsieur Mim?).

We live in a subdivision and crowing birds are forbidden so either way, this bird's days may be numbered. I simply don't know what else to do. I have a friend in the country who has a couple of hens who I thought might be willing to take my bird and maybe the crowing would stop if Madame Mim is not the top dog any more. But if it really is a rooster than s/he won't be stopping.

Does this look like a rooster to you? I don't have any experience with roosters or Dominiques so I can't really tell.

 

[sourland]

The good news is that it is a beautiful, healthy bird. The bad news is that it is a cockerel. - sorry.

 

[eggsontoast]

That bird looks just like my Barred Rock hen! I had a hen that crowed once. She was dominant and we mostly just thought it was funny.

 

[jhwest]

Are you sure? It doesn't have a big tail yet or look super rooster-y. When will that happen?

 

[keesmom]

It's a cockerel.

 

[junebuggena]

The black bands are more narrow than the white bands. This is caused by having two barring genes. The way the barring gene works, only males can have two; females can only have one. It's a boy. He also has male hackle and saddle feathers.

 

[MaeMom]

It looks like a cockerel to me too. The tail feathers are different.

 

[JessHeller]

Bummer. My Egyptian "crows" but she's laid a few eggs so I know she's a she. Or like we have come to call her "a chicken in transition". LOL.