this is really weird

[Johnn]

My friend top hen mates the other hens and she actually mates them like she will put her tail around theres, does any one elses do that? myne dont

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

This is actually *sort of * common in flocks that don't have a rooster. Some hens even grow spurs, crow and make the rooster alarm call when there is danger.

 

[turtlebird]

YES! I struggled with this.....I thought it was because my flock HAD a rooster and then he became people aggressive and we had to get rid of him. So that left my flock with out a rooster. One of the hens took over and she was nastier than any rooster ever was. I recently sent my aggressive hens to freezer camp and (just today) introduced the remaining flock to a NEW mr. rooster( I raised him from a chick that was the FREE exotic that came with my cornish X). Not a moment too soon as mrs. top hen was starting the behavior that earned the late Ms. B her unfortunate demise. So far the ladies are intrigued by this new gentleman. We will see how it goes, I hope he manages these ladies well.
While my rooster was growing, all the hens were outfitted with pinless peepers. It helped quite a bit with the feather pecking....lowest hens eventually got their peepers taken off. Things balanced out to a managable level.

 

[maggiec1951]

I don't have a roo because we live inside the city limits and aren't permitted one.

Hens are ok as long as neighbors don't complain. Is this a problem I can look forward to? I can just see it now since the oldest (by about a month) is a bantam and the others are 2 black Australorps and 2 white Brahmas