Strange honking/crowing sound from Buff Orp Pullet

[clkingtx]

Ok, I need reassured that my pullet is actually a pullet. I am about 95% sure, but I really wonder sometimes! I have 3 Buff orps, 3 barred rocks, and 2 barred cochins, all supposed to be pullets. We got the pullets in January, and we got our first egg in June. I have gotten as many as 7 eggs a day, for about 2 weeks or so I would get 6 one day, and 7 the next. About a week or two ago, this pullet was in the nesting area, not in a box, and would stretch her neck up and make a weird honking/crowing like sound. She acted very stressed, so I just checked water, and left her alone. I came back later, and there was a small egg with some blood on it, so I figured maybe it was her first, and she had a hard time with it. She makes this honking/crowing sound when I go out to feed them, like she is trying to get my attention or something. I thought for a while it sounded like she was complaining because of the heat(you know, like "can't you do something about this??). Tonight I gathered eggs later than usual, and it was already dark. I could still hear them bustling around, talking amongst themselves on the roost. When I went in the coop, she honked/crowed at me! I just don't know what to think about her at all. Her wattles are just a little bigger than the other orps, and her comb is just a little more erect(not larger though). She is a little heavier than the others, and a little bulkier(maybe fluffed out, not sure). When I say a little though, I just mean a shade, probably not noticeable to someone who doesn't see them every day. I will take a picture tomorrow and post it, but it is really quite odd! I kind of checked pelvic bones today, and this one's are just short of being 2 fingers apart(maybe an inch or so) the other orp that I checked was over 3 fingers wide. The rocks were 2 fingers apart, as was one cochin. The other cochin's was quite close together. The last orp was in a nesting box working at the time I checked the others. All these chickens squat for us, none show any other rooster like behaviors.

What do you think? Has anybody else had such a strangely vocal hen?

Thanks,
Carrie

 

[Yay Chicks!]

My Buff Orp makes a honking noise, but I would not define it as a crow, and she doesn't look like she's trying to crow. She just sounds part goose.

Someone on here stated that those kinds of noises are normal. Of course, it's hard to describe chicken sounds in details through writing...

 

[Tala]

Several of mine make a "honking" sound as they are panting. Something about passing the air over their vocal cords I guess.
Could that be the case???

 

[clkingtx]

I guess it could be a sound related to panting, I thought it was to start with. It almost seems sometimes as if she is trying to talk, but a lot of times, she actually does do the neck motion similar to crowing, like she is working hard to make that cool sound!! I wish I could figure out how to get a video up somewhere y'all could see. Anybody know how I would get a clip online?

Chickens are so funny!

Thanks,
Carrie

 

[cjdmashley]

we have buff O. pullets and one AWSOME Roo named JD. the girls all make some very funny noises and trust me when JD crows you know it!! At first it was just one long sound with no real signifigant change in pitch but this last month he found his whole cock-a-doodle and even the -do! this is our first year and they really are funny little animals.

 

[Happy Chooks]

My BO hen honked like a goose, but only when it was hot out. So I do think it is affiliated with panting. Now I notice one of my wellie girls doing it.

 

[tuesdays chicks]

I have a bo hen and 3 different breed of pullet. Haven't noticed anything like crowing from my bo but she is very vocal when she want something. If the girls are hidden from her view she goes nuts. She has me running out to the yard looking for predator all the time. Maybe she is your dominant hen

 

[clkingtx]

I will have to pay attention to if she still makes the noises when it cools down. I will also try to watch them some more to find out if maybe she is the dominant. One of the barred rocks used to be, but she may have stepped up as she got older. She sure acts bolder than she used to.

Thanks,
Carrie

 

[newchik715]

I have kind of the same thing in one of my girls except I have not noticed any difference in noises she makes. She is bigger though and her comb is taller and her wattles are bigger. Her feet are hefty too but she does sometimes squat for me though not llike the other girls. I wonder about her too. Maybe it is a BO thing?

 

[clkingtx]

Hey, thanks for all the input. I don't know, it does seem more common in the buff orps, from what I have read. Maybe from the thick layer of feathers making them more uncomfortable in the heat? Well, sorry I didn't get a picture yesterday, here is a picture of the honker:

I got 7 eggs today from 8 birds, and 2 of the 8 are cochins. I got 6 eggs yesterday. For a couple of weeks, I was getting 6 one day, and 7 the next. I guess with those numbers, they would all have to be girls, huh? Especially considering that these are 7 month olds who just started laying within the last 2 months. What do y'all think?

Thanks,
Carrie