She crows like a rooster - I swear!

[just3girls]

One of our hens, a barred rock, has been making a noise the last few days remarkably similar to a rooster, maybe missing a syllable of the familiar "cockadoodledo." I think she did the same thing about a year ago for a little while. Has anybody seen this before? Just curious! She's still laying just fine and everything else is normal.

 

[Bunnylady]

Crowing hens are a bit unusual, but not unheard of. Usually it's the most dominant hen that does it; I'm guessing that you don't have a rooster? The only crowing hen that I've had to date only did it when she (and her newly hatched chicks) were confined away from the roo. Crowing is a territorial display, so apparently it's the responsibility of the top bird to do it.

 

[just3girls]

Good to know! Thanks! And that's right - we don't have a rooster, and she's the most dominant.