One really loud, really bossy RIR, is it actually a Roo?

[BamburghFarms]

We are new to the world of keeping chickens and a nice lady gave us 5 “hens” for free to try our hand at it. She gave us 3 currently laying hens and two RIRs that are not yet laying. She said they were both due to lay this fall but one of them is bigger than the other and is starting to act really odd. It is “bwaking” really loudly and trying to “guard” the eggs in the coop. It isn’t aggressive and allows us to pick it up and everything but because we are brand new to having chickens, we are wondering if this chicken is actually a rooster or if she just thinks she is!! Lol Here are some pics we took today. Any information would be really helpful and appreciated!! Thanks in advance!!

 

[SueT]

Welcome to BYC! I think it's a hen. Are the others also RIR? This breed tends to be loud and bossy.

 

[tacothechicken]

HI!! Looks hen to me although that's a large comb :/ but supposedly you can actually note the status of certain chickens by comb size and color in a flock and alphas tend to be loud and bossy our New Hampshire basically never shuts up and gets mean when other chickens don't follow her directions to the letter, there are hens who have turned into roo s (not biollogically) but I've no experience whith that. Your bird may be starting to nest early or have instinct whith out ability and be picking out a favorite nest box as they love to do!

 

[9SpiceyChickens]

How old is she? She could be bossy only because she’s broody. I had a hen who layed eggs later then another hen and she acted like that. I think she was jealous.

 

[featheredplanets]

She’s a pullet very very close to laying, if not already. The egg aggressiveness sounds normal to me actually, for pullets. I would let her be as long as she is not harming anyone or anybird

 

[featheredplanets]

And welcome to backyard chickens

 

[imnukensc]

That's a pullet and she appears to be very near laying by her looks and her actions. She's not broody.

 

[BamburghFarms]

Welcome to BYC! I think it's a hen. Are the others also RIR? This breed tends to be loud and bossy.

Thanks!! This page is great and we are learning so much! Only one other is a RIR and they are buddies, always together, it’s younger though... or we assume it is... barely any comb and smaller in size and not yet laying either... but the lady who gave them to us didn’t have very much info for us so a lot is just us guessing lol. We have a Black Star (who was in charge before this RIR decided she was haha), a Buff Orpington and a Golden Comet.

 

[BamburghFarms]

She’s a pullet very very close to laying, if not already. The egg aggressiveness sounds normal to me actually, for pullets. I would let her be as long as she is not harming anyone or anybird

She isn’t mean to us and she only mildly bullies the other chickens, nothing major. She walks over to us and lets us pick her up and everything, the other hens don’t do that so that’s kind of neat. My 7 year old loves it! She isn’t laying yet but it’s great to know she should be soon!!

 

[BamburghFarms]

HI!! Looks hen to me although that's a large comb :/ but supposedly you can actually note the status of certain chickens by comb size and color in a flock and alphas tend to be loud and bossy our New Hampshire basically never shuts up and gets mean when other chickens don't follow her directions to the letter, there are hens who have turned into roo s (not biollogically) but I've no experience whith that. Your bird may be starting to nest early or have instinct whith out ability and be picking out a favorite nest box as they love to do!

We thought that about the hens that take the role of a Roo if you don’t have one and we don’t, so we thought maybe she was doing exactly that. Hopefully she is also about ready to lay us some eggs!!