# Can a hen turn into a rooster?



## Shygal (May 26, 2003)

I have a bunch of hens here, Im positive they are all hens except for the one rooster I had. He disappeared a couple weeks ago  he was a nice rooster, too.

But....now just the other day, my daughter said "I thought the rooster was gone?" and I know he is. I looked and one of the hens that was born last year, now suddenly has a big bunch of tail feathers sticking straight up, her comb got bigger, and she CROWED. I know she is a hen because she laid eggs lol

What happened? Should I start calling her/him Chaz? lol
Does this happen when a bunch of hens suddenly go roosterless?


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## GraceAlice (Jun 7, 2013)

Well, any animal that is born a female is going to stay a female, vice versa. Just the way the world works, lol

BUT, how are you sure that SHE was the one laying eggs?


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## SJSFarm (Jun 13, 2012)

Haha. It always surprises me when one of the hens crows! 

I had a beautiful Easter egger hen do it last month. And she was broody, keeping 5 chicks who weren't even hers warm! 

I also had a roo who was nice and quiet so I decided he would not go to freezer camp like the others. I separated the 4 Roos to be butchered, and once he had he realized they were gone, he started to crow. Well we put him in he freezer too- didn't want any Roos my first time raising birds.


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## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

if you are 110% sure this bird is an adult hen and not a young bird maturing then its POSSIBLE that she has a hormonal imbalance, there have been documented cases where females of several kinds of fowl have developed cystic ovaries or what ever and starts developing male plumage, and male tendencies, beyond the normal dominance displays common in flocks with no rooster from the lead hen, 

it is actually becoming more and more common, I think it has to do with the hormones in the processed feed they get,


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## GraceAlice (Jun 7, 2013)

Also, I know this occurs in goats and other animals, pretty sure it also can in chickens. Your 'hen' could be a hen/rooster, called a hermaphrodite. That means it could have both reproductive systems. I think this happens when two eggs form together, one being female and one being male... not very sure at all!


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## jennigrey (Jan 27, 2005)

Yep, it can happen. In the absence of a real rooster, sometimes a hen will step up and take over the duties (including mounting the other hens, but no fertilization will occur). In addition to the crowing, their hormones can even cause them to take on some of the physical characteristics of a rooster (taller tail feathers, larger comb). The main problem with this is that those same hormones can cause the hen to cease laying.


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## shanzone2001 (Dec 3, 2009)

Well, here in some parts of CA they certainly can!!!


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## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

I don't think chickens or other birds can be a true Hermaphrodite, but the ovarian cysts and hormonal mix ups does turn hens into male look alikes,


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## jacqueg (Feb 21, 2010)

Birds have a different sex determination system than mammals. In birds, a female's sex chromosomes are zw, while a male has two z chromosomes. 

So yes, if the hormones associated with the w chromosome become imbalanced, the hormones associated with the z chromosome are not counterbalanced, and the hen starts to act more like a rooster. I don't believe the hen can then produce sperm, but I could be wrong about that. In some fish species, smaller and younger individuals produce sperm, but as that individual ages and grow, it will start to produce eggs. Obviously, mating behavior changes as the individual switches sex.


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## Sumatra (Dec 5, 2013)

Sorry, but there's no way they can change sex. The hen simple took charge after the rooster disappeared. Since she's at the top of the pecking order and has control over everything, she decided to start crowing assuming the place of the rooster. It's not uncommon to have hens crowing. I have a campine that does quite often. I'm not saying all hens who achieve top hen position will crow, but some do. This doesn't mean she'll stop laying either, nor does it mean she can fertilize eggs.


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## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

we are not saying they are Changing sex, just they have a hormonal imbalance that causes them to crow and act like a rooster IN ADITION to growing male plumage, its been documented in Peacocks, Pheasant, and Chickens that I know of, they do NOT become True Fertile males, and some even continue to lay eggs, 

and yes there are fish that do this as the natural order of things, there are fish in the ocean that live in groups one male over several females, if the male dies the dominant female changes into a breeding male to continue the family name,


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## Shygal (May 26, 2003)

Would losing the rooster trigger that in the hen? I know they dont have a sex change, but she was definitely a she lol Now she looks and acts like a he, but has not mated with any of the hens, doesn't show any interest in that at all. The tail feathers grew and the comb and the crowing all started soon after the rooster disappeared.


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## Sumatra (Dec 5, 2013)

Very well. I misunderstood that. Lets just say if you don't have a rooster in your flock one hen may start taking the rooster's place and sometimes they take it bit too seriously.

There are plenty of theories on hens crowing. From an old hen's ovary shrinking, so she starts producing a bit too much male hormone, to a younger hen experiencing an infection of her reproductive parts causing hormones to go haywire. I forgot to mention in the other post, that despite not being able to fertilize, hens who assume male duties may include mounting other hens in that job.

There are also cases of hens who crow just because they can. They are usually the dominant hen in the flock who are loud at everything they do. 

That said, yes loosing the rooster did trigger the hen to take his place. I'm sure she's happy she can be top hen now! Furthermore, her tail feathers getting bigger aren't really a part of that. Being top hen means nobody in the flock would dare peck at her feathers, and she could also be getting more food by asserting her dominant position- causing the increased feather size and health.

Now, if she started growing hackle and saddle feathers, that would certainly be another thing altogether. :shocked:


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## Fire-Man (Apr 30, 2005)

No! I know of several "Butch" Girls. They can Look like a man, talk like a man, walk like a man, act like a man, even spit like a man, BUT They still a Female!


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## Squeaky McMurdo (Apr 19, 2012)

It's easier for a hen to crow than it is for a rooster to lay eggs


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## Jennifer L. (May 10, 2002)

What KSALguy said. Birds can get tumors, cysts, etc. on their ovaries that can cause that kind of change.


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## solsikkefarms (Jun 1, 2013)

GraceAlice said:


> Well, any animal that is born a female is going to stay a female, vice versa. Just the way the world works,


Thats what i thought till i took a vacation to California...


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

We had one ourselves. Barred rock, only survivor of a fox raid. Had her for 4ish years after the raid. By the end, she let out horrible 'crows', and had shinier neck/hackle/tail feathers than previous years. She also had a more pronounced comb and dainty spur buds if I remember correctly. Stopped laying years ago. She could've had cancer, or perhaps living alone for so long made her hormones imbalanced or she went off her rocker, lol.


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## mammabooh (Sep 1, 2004)

I have a hen (Sally) that took over the rooster role when we butchered our rooster. She even called the girls when she found a tasty morsel. However, when a little rooster chick grew up and started acting roosterish, Sally went back to being a normal hen.


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## Melnic (Nov 29, 2013)

I just finished watching a documentary off of you tube that was made by the BBC called "the secret life of chickens". It was great and there was actually a mention of something like what you are describing with your hen. It was an hour long to watch, but you might want to check it out. Very interesting to watch for a chicken newbie such as myself


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## KSALguy (Feb 14, 2006)

some hens will assume rooster duties when the flock looses its rooster, this is rather normal, happens a lot, BUT if it IS a hormonal issue where she is also growing male sex feathers like long tail and saddle feathers then this can happen even when a rooster is still in the flock, it simply means she has messed up ovaries.


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## dizzy (Jun 25, 2013)

There's an old saying, a whistling girl and a crowing hen always come to no good end.


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## WV Farm girl (Nov 26, 2011)

dizzy said:


> There's an old saying, a whistling girl and a crowing hen always come to no good end.



Lol! I thought the same thing when I read the op's post!


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## arnie (Apr 26, 2012)

heard that a crowing hen would bring bad luck


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## dizzy (Jun 25, 2013)

Yeah, for the hen. She's probably more likely to end up in the stew pot.


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## Guest (Jan 27, 2014)

KSALguy said:


> I don't think chickens or other birds can be a true Hermaphrodite, but the ovarian cysts and hormonal mix ups does turn hens into male look alikes,


They can be half and half, though. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/8561814.stm


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## Lady89 (Feb 22, 2014)

Chickens really can undergo natural sex changes it has to do with hens having an undeveloped ovary that if they get 2 much male hormonal can become a tactical but /he/she/it will no longer lay eggs, but she won't be fathering any offspring, either, she will be completely infertile 

here is a link http://www.livescience.com/13514-sex-change-chicken-gertie-hen-bertie-cockerel.html


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## gjensen (Feb 8, 2014)

I flock without a cock bird, can produce a hen that will become dominant and fill the role. They cannot actually change sex, of course. The process can, and does initiate hormonal changes. This has also been found to occur in reptiles that have more of a social setting. It is essentially a survival mechanism.
It is not common, but it does happen.

Occasionally, but rarely a female can be born with the imbalances and act more like a male though she is not. She can also have more male characteristics.

It has nothing to do with hormones in commercial rations. There is no hormones added to commercial rations, and it has long been illegal. One of the most ironic and misleading labels is to say feed is hormone free. It is all hormone free. This is a very long standing misconception that is widely believed, though it is not true. It looks good on the label though. 

No meat that we eat that has been produced in the US has had hormones added to their feed.


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