- Jun 19, 2008
- 409
- 9
- 131
my 24-week-old, whom I thought was a cockerel, seems to have become a pullet. I've heard of hens becoming roosters, but this is a new one for me!
Back in October, I posted my suspicion that Dolly was a boy
The consensus was that he was. He had the following characteristics compared to his RIR sister
feathered far later, especially in the wing bows; his tail was stumpy and curved down, but hers was straight and went up. He walked much more upright and was more assertive. He had an absolute fit when I tried to pick him up, but she was calm.
Soon, he began getting long black feathers from his tail, and he even began to try to mount the girls. His neck feathers were darker and shiny. He grew bigger and weighed significantly more.
Then, one day when I went into the pen, his long tail feathers were gone. I thought maybe the others plucked them, but I couldn't tell. He stopped mounting the girls, and he became very placid when I tried to pick him up. It was like night and day, as before he would completely freak out.
He (Out of force of habit, I'm still using the male pronoun) still is bigger, and his neck feathers are shinier. He also completely avoids the hen pecking order. When I reintroduced a pullet who had been sick, the others chased her from the food and were generally mean for several days, but Dolly was completely fine and willing to share.
Today, Dolly laid an egg.
I think I have an intersexed chicken. Dolly still has a number of male characteristics, but has lost a number of others. Has anyone ever heard of this happening before?!
Back in October, I posted my suspicion that Dolly was a boy
The consensus was that he was. He had the following characteristics compared to his RIR sister
feathered far later, especially in the wing bows; his tail was stumpy and curved down, but hers was straight and went up. He walked much more upright and was more assertive. He had an absolute fit when I tried to pick him up, but she was calm.Soon, he began getting long black feathers from his tail, and he even began to try to mount the girls. His neck feathers were darker and shiny. He grew bigger and weighed significantly more.
Then, one day when I went into the pen, his long tail feathers were gone. I thought maybe the others plucked them, but I couldn't tell. He stopped mounting the girls, and he became very placid when I tried to pick him up. It was like night and day, as before he would completely freak out.
He (Out of force of habit, I'm still using the male pronoun) still is bigger, and his neck feathers are shinier. He also completely avoids the hen pecking order. When I reintroduced a pullet who had been sick, the others chased her from the food and were generally mean for several days, but Dolly was completely fine and willing to share.
Today, Dolly laid an egg.
