I don't visit BackyardChickens often any more, but I really need some advice right now if anyone can offer it.
I own one chicken; a hen who is ten years old. She has lived alone since early 2020, and she lives in a hutch. She does not lay eggs any more because of suprelorin implants that she has to receive from a vet every five or six months.
This week, this hen has started to routinely crow like a rooster early in the morning; shortly after the sun rises. She has crowed like a rooster on rare occasions before, but it was never in a consistent routine manner like this. I live in a suburban area where roosters are banned, thus this hen cannot be allowed to continue crowing unperturbed.
Whenever she begins to crow, I can make her stop if I go to where the hutch is and empty some water into a water bowl that is inside the hutch. The noise from the water is enough of an interruption that she quickly stops crowing. I need her to stop crowing without being prompted soon, however, because later this year I will be away from home for at least two mornings, and I don't want to burden the house-sitter with the job of making the hen be quiet.
I have already tried something else in an attempt to keep the hen from crowing. This morning, I went outside shortly after the sun rose and I emptied water into the hen's bowl before I heard her make any noises. This did not work for long, however, and about half an hour later the hen started crowing. Thus, I had to go outside again and use the water to make the hen stop crowing.
As for other recent changes in this hen, there are two. She has now started squatting in what I assume is the mating position when I approach her; in the past she would just run away from me unless she was too sick to. The other change is that her cloaca appears to be wider than before; I frequently check her cloaca as a preventative measure against flystrike.
My only theory about why these changes may be happening is this: The last time this hen got a suprelorin implant was in either May or June of this year; before that, this hen's prior suprelorin implant was in November or December last year. The May/June 2025 suprelorin implant was done by a vet who I had not met before, so I didn't know how reputable they are. Is it possible that this vet somehow made a mistake and that my hen did not actually receive the suprelorin implant? Are the changes that I am seeing in my hen consistent with what happens once suprelorin wears off? To my knowledge this hen has not resumed laying eggs, however.
If anyone here has good advice for how to make a hen stop crowing without killing it, then I would appreciate being filled in.
I own one chicken; a hen who is ten years old. She has lived alone since early 2020, and she lives in a hutch. She does not lay eggs any more because of suprelorin implants that she has to receive from a vet every five or six months.
This week, this hen has started to routinely crow like a rooster early in the morning; shortly after the sun rises. She has crowed like a rooster on rare occasions before, but it was never in a consistent routine manner like this. I live in a suburban area where roosters are banned, thus this hen cannot be allowed to continue crowing unperturbed.
Whenever she begins to crow, I can make her stop if I go to where the hutch is and empty some water into a water bowl that is inside the hutch. The noise from the water is enough of an interruption that she quickly stops crowing. I need her to stop crowing without being prompted soon, however, because later this year I will be away from home for at least two mornings, and I don't want to burden the house-sitter with the job of making the hen be quiet.
I have already tried something else in an attempt to keep the hen from crowing. This morning, I went outside shortly after the sun rose and I emptied water into the hen's bowl before I heard her make any noises. This did not work for long, however, and about half an hour later the hen started crowing. Thus, I had to go outside again and use the water to make the hen stop crowing.
As for other recent changes in this hen, there are two. She has now started squatting in what I assume is the mating position when I approach her; in the past she would just run away from me unless she was too sick to. The other change is that her cloaca appears to be wider than before; I frequently check her cloaca as a preventative measure against flystrike.
My only theory about why these changes may be happening is this: The last time this hen got a suprelorin implant was in either May or June of this year; before that, this hen's prior suprelorin implant was in November or December last year. The May/June 2025 suprelorin implant was done by a vet who I had not met before, so I didn't know how reputable they are. Is it possible that this vet somehow made a mistake and that my hen did not actually receive the suprelorin implant? Are the changes that I am seeing in my hen consistent with what happens once suprelorin wears off? To my knowledge this hen has not resumed laying eggs, however.
If anyone here has good advice for how to make a hen stop crowing without killing it, then I would appreciate being filled in.
