[pamdaw]

hello everyone, what a great site. I am rather confused at the moment and wonder if anyone can help.

I have a dozen chickens ranging from ex battery, a couple of heinz 57's and 2 light sussex. The problem is that my light sussex hens are behaving like cockerels! one of them has been treading my little brown hens and this morning my husband swears he heard a crow!! we do have a majorcan bantam cockerel ( he has never been much of a lover and i have only ever seen him tread a hen once and i think that was by default)
the birds get layers pellets ( only reintroduced them back in to the diet recently) mixed corn, kitchen scraps and they have plenty to scratch about in. The sussex are last summer hatched and to be fair i couldnt tell you if they are laying at the moment as its all a bit hit and miss.
Any help would be appreciated.

[Aunt Sally]

Does sound like a cockerel  :shock:  Can you post a picture of him/her  :?:

There's some information on this topic that would help you with piccies

http://www.chat.allotment-garden.org/viewtopic.php?t=8645

[pamdaw]

thank you aunt sally i will try to get some piccies this evening and post them

[GrannieAnnie]

Also, apparently, hens can change sex!  This was discussed here a while back.  Someone said a hen changed into a cockerel by stopping laying, crowing and growing her comb and wattles, but when a new cockerel was introduced, she went back to being a hen and started laying eggs again!

Was that on here auntie?  do you remember?

But again, maybe as they are only last year's hatch, they are cockerals, or at least one of them is.

Definitely piccies!!!!!!   We want Piccies!!!!!!    

Oh, by the way, hi there, and welcome!!!!!!      

[Wildeone]

Someone told me that a dominant female can begin to crow!!!  :shock:  Hope now the neighbour will hit the roof!!!  

[chicken soup]

Hi  I recently had a araucana come into lay, she laid me 3 blue eggs then decided to crow. :roll:   She wasn't the top girl either far from it and got a bit of bullying when she was younger.  I have since kept watch on her and I think she has risen to second in comand of her little group but still not top. Anyway this morning she was making a right noise and seeing as my neighbours arent very tolerant of my girls I bought her in popped her in a cat basket and she settled down.  An hour later I went to check on her to put her back out with her mates and there was a lovely blue egg.  So I guess she had decided to become a hen again.  This has all happened in the last three weeks approx.

If I wasn't female I would say "women they are always changing their mind"    

Photos would be good though as you may have a real cockerel.