We have a crowing hen!

[Nicos]

We have a five year old cross Marans hen ( the daughter of our pure Marans cockerel)
She laid regularly.

Since he died last year , she’s become the dominant hen and turned quite frankly into a bully.
This morning she made a funny gurgling sound a few times. Enough to catch our attention in case there was a problem.
We went outside and in front of us did several proper crows - head tipped up, wings slightly flapping….then promptly dashed off and did that sideways dance flirting to one of the hens…who made a quick dash for it before she was mounted!

I’ve looked it up and came across this really interesting article about it….

https://backyardpoultry.iamcountrysi...y-hen-crowing/

[mothhawk]

Gosh, how amazing! I knew fish could change sex, but wasn't aware poultry could do it too. The other hens must be a bit bewildered by it all. Will you keep her or get another proper rooster?

[Plot70]

I read about it some time ago.
The eggs will not hatch so if you want chicks you will need a new rooster.

[Nicos]

We decided not to have a cockerel at the moment as we’ve already had 3 and this lot of hens never seem to go broody.
We’ll keep her for now, but she’s actually getting quite nasty and I honestly think the other chooks would be glad to see her go.
There is a second one starting to behave as she did a few weeks ago

[Plot70]

It might be something in the feed or environment that is turning them if you have got another.
We had an over aggressive cockerel that scratched the feathers off the hens and kept on pecking me.
It ended up in the cooking pot.
We have a nice tame one that can tell where there is a good supply of worms. He drums on the ground for me to turn the soil over for the hens.

[Nicos]

It might be something in the feed or environment that is turning them if you have got another.

We did wonder about that, but apart from the weather , everything is the same as it’s always been…apart from there not being a real cockerel in charge.

I guess this one will eventually be for the pot…and maybe the other one too if she continues to be so nasty.

I know there is always a ‘top dog’ hen if there isn’t a cockerel, but I really didn’t think they’d be so nasty. I actually feel sorry for the chooks lower down the pecking order.

I used to have little banties when we first kept hens and I’m thinking that in the spring we might get a few more young banties to make up the numbers. I like how they lay most of the year. Might even get a young cockerel again too

Has anyone else found their dominant female to be aggressive?

[Snoop Puss]

Goodness is all I can say.

Well, not all.

We've never had a rooster and we have had chickens that have taken over the crowing role, but never anything else (that I've noticed).

Like the sound of your rooster, Plot70. We've always been too nervous about having a rooster because the cats, dogs and kids that visit. I've never met a tame one. Was there a trick to taming him or is he that way of his own accord?

[Nicos]

Our first two cockerels were brothers and had been really well handled as youngsters…well all the time really as we used to pick them off their perches at night to stroke them. They never squared up to us,but one of the brothers was dominant over the other.

Heres a story about how brave my 2 cockerels were….
One day we had a peacock (yup really!) fly into the electric fenced area and all the chooks , including the cockerels legged it into the coup to hide.
Apart from Bettie.
She had a few very young chicks at the time and she attacked the peacock, sparring with both feet hitting him in the chest. She was a tiny bantam but by heck she gave him what’s what.
He stood his ground and looked down on her whilst she attacked him. She could just about reach his chest. I thought he’d kill her with
one kick so I rushed to her defence but by the time I’d turned off the electricity and opened the gate he decided to fly off.
Ithink he was more warey of me than a mental chicken mother giving it her all!

Once he’d gone, both cockerels very gingerly ventured out of the coup!
So brave

As an aside…..Albert ( the peacock) decided to stay with us for over a year as he fell in love with one of our Marans .
But he never ventured inside the chook run again!

[Plot70]

Goodness is all I can say.

Well, not all.

We've never had a rooster and we have had chickens that have taken over the crowing role, but never anything else (that I've noticed).

Like the sound of your rooster, Plot70. We've always been too nervous about having a rooster because the cats, dogs and kids that visit. I've never met a tame one. Was there a trick to taming him or is he that way of his own accord?

I took on three birds having taken on a plot with a small coup in situ.
They all turned out to be roosters and one became week and was moved to another former duck run. It never recovered and found its way to the cooking pot as it was not having a good life.
Three hens were introduced to the other two roosters with little if any fighting.
One rooster became very aggressive and kept on pecking me.
Each time it attacked I grabbed it and told it off the less aggressive rooster sometimes came over and gave the aggressive one a nip on the comb.
If the less aggressive rooster mounted a hen the other mounted him at the same time.
The hens begun to loose some feathers from there backs and shoulders as the aggressive rooster reached its blood quota.
The less aggressive rooster could see that the aggressive one was a problem and became tame once I took the aggressive one away.
He has been tame ever since.
I have t friend who has a small garden crammed with domestic birds and some of them wonder into the house. He also has a number of snakes and lizards in tanks.
His dog never bothers any of the other animals and just sniffs any birds that walk into the house.

[lottie dolly]

I love to hear tales of animals,they so funny,since i took on a very tame stray since i moved,1 of my previouse hens is a nightmare,she has been threatened with a foil wrap,she sits on top of the new one and holds her down,till we spot her,and one of the girls,since they have been free roaming,will start making a racket,head up and back,not a crow but still ruddy noisy,i wonder if it's the alarm call,a cat has been seen in the garden,other family members have watched it,it takes up a stalking mode,then shoots past the girls,so maybe it's that,they so funny and entertaining,son can sit out,if i go out and they hear my voice they come flying up hoping for treats,they are mostly dissapointed,poor things,only when i CALL them.

[Nicos]

I hope your chook has calmed down now lottie?

My crowing hen has suddenly stopped crowing….she’s just back to her stroppy bullying self again
That really was strange.

[lottie dolly]

the bully still has a little go,she is the smallest,but the loudest beak,when free roaming she had a lot to say when son moves some trays,he had to put them back,as she decided to lay her eggs under the cover.they are so funny,glad your has sorted herself out,there has to be 1 eh

[Nicos]

And she’s started crowing again
So much so I rushed to the window to see if there was a skein of geese flying overhead

[Snoop Puss]

Got yourself a proper spring chicken there, Nicos. From your post in November, looks like she stopped in late autumn.

[Nicos]

She did indeed…if she keeps it up - along with her increased bullying she’ll end up as our Easter Sunday roast!



only kidding