Roosterly-Hen? PLEASE HELP! :-/

[Fuzzypea]

Hello Everybody!

I have a cochin named Ralphie. Ralph started to "crow" when he/she was full grown, and the crowing started out sounding like a series of connected "BAGAWKS."
He/she started to get better at it, but it took almost a full year to sound like a real roo. And it wasn't until after Ralphie started crowing that he/she started to show other
rooster-like behavior... like trying to mate with my other hens. Ralph does this very rarely, and never succeeds in anything but grabbing them by the neck then letting them go.
Ralphie also tries to "challenge" me sometimes, by walking toward me sideways while looking at the ground (like my other roo's have done), but he/she only goes a couple
steps then usually trips, falls over, or gets scared and stops.

Its things like this that make me think that Ralph might be a hen. I've heard that hens sometimes have hormonal changes, which can cause them to stop laying and slowly turn
into a rooster. I also heard that it can be fixed by injecting them with female hormones.

Does anybody know anything about this? Or what might be wrong with Ralphie?


I posted some pictures of before Ralph started crowing and after Ralph started crowing.

Before

After

 

[paddock36]

Ralphie looked immature in the first picture and looks like a normal roo in the second picture. What makes you think Ralphie was ever a hen? Did she/he ever lay an egg? If not then I think you have a normal roo.

 

[Chickndaddy]

I agree. Unless that bird layed an egg and I've completely lost my gift of sexing birds the first picture shows an immature cockerel and the second a mature rooster.

 

[SilverPhoenix]

Sure looks and sounds like a rooster to me. I'd bet money on it! I'm kind of confused as to why you thought Ralphie was a hen as well--it sounds to me like a normal cockerel/rooster!

 

[PaulaJoAnne]

All boy in both pictures!

 

[High Roost Ranch]

That's a rooster. Waiting for an egg from Ralphie is going to be a veeeeeery long wait. The cows will be home before that ever happens. Better turn off the frying pan now, LOL. Ralphie is Ralph where I come from.

 

[Fuzzypea]

I think that Ralphie actually did lay an egg once. I found a long, abnormally shaped egg lying out next to the water container. I was pretty sure that Ralph layed this one, because it was after all of our other hens had started laying. Shortly after it was layed, Ralph started to crow. Then she stopped laying and his/her waddles started to get larger. Ralph got more aggressive when he/she turned a year old. It seemed strange to me... but I do agree that Ralph was immature in the last picture. I saw a better one once, but i just can't find it.

I will look for it again.

I don't know what is wrong with Ralph.......

I think we cursed it by naming it Ralph, LOL.

 

[hoppy]

hens that are already laying can lay a weird egg every once in a while so it could have been one of the other hens, not your ralphie.

 

[Fuzzypea]

Yeah you might be right

 

[chickenlover54]

That boy is a rooster, I will bet my life on it, that is typical rooster behavior especially if you have another rooster(do you?) He may not be top rank so he never succeeds at mating, all roosters are different and he didn't lay an egg