[Catsmuvva]

Hi, can anyone help? One of my recent rescue girls has a really big comb and, as a result, was named Afro (as in afro comb - boom tish, kindly leave the stage) and to date has not laid an egg. Now that in itself doesn't worry me as she's already had a full life of that. My concern is that she may have gone through a spontaneous sex change as described in Gail Damerow's Chicken Health Handbook page 54, in which case Afro suddenly becomes short for hermaphrodite. Ok, so she's not crowing or attempting to mount the other girls but her stance is very much that you'd expect to see in a cock bird. She also doesn't go up into the ark at night, preferring to sleep at the bottom of the ramp, although she can go up it as I've found when I've lifted her onto it.
If anyone else has experienced this in one of their birds can you please tell me how you go about treating her/him for an infected ovary in the hopes that he/she may revert to her normal self.

[Casey76]

Some girls do have very big combs naturally, I wouldn't worry about it too much

[Missie]

Glad you mentioned this,I have a bluebelle which has a very large comb,And  although she has laid,I am not sure if she still is,she keeps mounting my gingernut rangers! I first thought she was attacking them,but once she gets off,they shake and ruffle their feathers as if they have just been mated!

[Casey76]

Mounting is typical dominance behavoiur.  She is probably ensuring her position as "top hen" amongst your flock.

[joyfull]

she has not become a male, my males perch, crow and mount, her stance is purely a dominance thing as Casey said and as she is a rescue chances are she is past her laying days.

[Missie]

Hi Thanks for that though Bluebelle is not ex batt,she is not quite one year old and normally lays every day,she is however the most boisterous one in the entire flock and the only one whom mounts any hens in there.

I have a silkie cockerel-one left due to my other passing away last weekend though He is in the Bantam run:)

[Catsmuvva]

Thanks for that, joyfull - I actually wasn't looking in the book for answers to Afro (just came across it) but about Rusty's problem, which I'll ask about in another topic. Also, not that fussed about the eggs, only 4 of my 7 are laying anyway, I'm just glad to give them a life!

[TeaPots]

It deffo just dominance behaviour..She's just telling she is the boss, better than any cock bird.

ps, I had a hybrid hen, just a brown henny penny, that laid us eggs regularly, but also crowed. She didnt tread though.