Rooster behavior in a hen?

[tiffwilhelm]

I have four (allegedly) pullets. They are about 8 weeks old. My maran I got from a local ranch at just a couple of days old. Everything went fine for a while, but a couple of weeks ago Shortstock (that's her name) started acting very aggressive. She puffs up the feathers on her head, pecks the other chickens and jumps on them with her talons. A lot of charging and bullying. I brought her back to the ranch to have her double checked. I was told that since her feathers are coming in more black than gray and that since her feet aren't entirely white that she was pretty certain this was a hen. I am just not seeing this behavior in my other chickens. I'm a bit concerned that either a I have a rooster or super aggressive hen that will not get along with the other three. Does anyone have any advice? Will this escalate and become dangerous to the others? Is this a breed thing?

 

[4H kids and mom]

Even hens need to establish a pecking order. They need to figure out who the boss in the flock is. More than likely, your pushy hen is just trying to show the others that she wants to be Top Dog in the coop.

 

[tiffwilhelm]

Thanks for your reply. It puts my mind at ease. Hopefully they will work it out without drawing blood or creating another batch of future chicks! (Although, how cute would that be?)