She is mean, mean, mean! She will hop on the back of the other girls at every opportunity and beat
the crap out of them. Anytime they are laying down, (dust bath, waiting on the nests to lay an egg) or head down, (pecking at scratch etc). This particular
hen does not lay any eggs. (Although a couple of months ago she laid a very small, (less than 1") dark brown egg two days in a row. That's
it. Nothing since. She even chases after the Rhodie, jumps on her back and pulls at her comb relentlessly when she sees Rhodie heading in to lay. Ruthless!
I don't understand because a.) Australorps are supposed to be quite docile and b.) it is my (limited) understanding that pecking order is worked out in a
couple of days. All six of them are 14 months old and have been together from the get-go. She's the only Australorp. No Roos. They have plenty of food
and water all over the place and two acres to roam on all day. Any ideas?
0 Kudo
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Australorp Hen Acts Like a Rooster!
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 NewMamaHen |
Australorp Hen Acts Like a Rooster! |
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Posts: 11 06/16/09 05:05 PM |
Kelly
Brighton, Colorado |
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HINKJC |
#1 | |||
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Posts: 2203 06/20/09 08:03 PM Moderator |
Are you sure she's not a roo? Can you post a pic? It sure does sound like roo behavior.
Jody |
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NewMamaHen |
#2 | |||
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Posts: 12 07/13/09 04:15 PM |
What do you think? Sorry about the blurry pic...she's a bit nervous: http://images.yuku.com/image/pjpeg/ccb2644489589f5db9bfe6ba10e56614ce8fb1a1.jpg
Kelly
Brighton, Colorado |
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BeckT |
#3 | |||
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Posts: 5006 07/13/09 07:53 PM "Birds of a feather flock...to ME!" |
Sure looks like a hen to me. Sometimes a hen will take on the roll of a rooster if there are none around. She might even start crowing. We have a member here
that used to have a crowing hen.
I'm no spring chicken, but I'm still kickin
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treegod |
#4 | |||
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Posts: 50 08/30/09 08:07 AM |
I've read up on something very recently about how hens can "change sex". This doesn't mean they can start breeding, but the stop laying eggs,
grow roo plumage and act and crow like a roo. I think it was something to do with the ovaries not developing properly or something, hang on....
Aha! Here we are... http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-383491/The-sex-change-chicken-crows.html So you're "hen" is one in 10,000 
BTW NewMamaHen, I came from Brighton... in South east England. |
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- General and Social Discussion
- Disease, Cures and Emergencies!
- Eggs to Hatch and Beyond
- Chicken Behaviors
- Coops and Runs
- Predators and Pests
- Poultry show and swap meet listings
- Buy ~ Sell ~ Trade ~ Giveaways
- Breeds in General
- Breeders & Backyard Hatcheries
- Meat Birds and Other Poultry
- reference material, med and disease info
- Egg & Chicken Recipes
- Notable Archives
