Did you know? (Cool chicken discussion!!)

[MsPony]

That chickens are hermaphrodites? They have a testicle and an ovary? But it is determined at some point which one becomes dormant.

I got 6 chicks at somewhere between June and July, one was supposed to be a silver laced wynadotte, however she has grown up to appear to be a black langshan. However, lately she is TWICE the size of the chicks, shes massive, I looked into it and everything pointed to black jersey giant except for her feathered legs. I went and looked at her yesterday and FLIPPED because I realized "she" had a large comb/waddles and the start of a rooster tail. I called my feed store and they said she couldnt be a roo because she doesnt crow, isnt aggressive (shes passive) and doesnt have spurs. I mean, this "hen" whos MASSIVE lets my tiny little MFH chase her around.

We already had to take the Polish to the vet (who is her technical mom, long story) so I squeezed in my mutant. Turns out, in a large group of hens, a subserviant hen will go rooster, her testicle becomes un-dormant and she COULD (most likely wont) make babies! "She" wont crow like a normal roo, the vet said she will sound like a baby dying 2-3x a day once in awhile.

I am just glad I didnt have to rehome my chicka!

I am uploading pictures to show you guys, I seriously learn something new everyday with my animals haha.

ETA Pics:
You can see how big she is in comparison:

The other black hen in the background is a black langshan, huge difference.

 

[Blackbird]

Very cool! I've read about quite a few birds doing this before. We actually had a Welsh Harlequin duck that turned drake.

BTW, I love the trees in your pen!

 

[ORChick]

Good heavens! Maybe that is what is happening with my little Silver Spangled Hamburg. She is my littlest hen, though not the lowest in rank. She doesn't appear to be changing physically, and still lays her quota of eggs. But a couple of months ago I caught her crowing - standing on tiptoes, flapping her wings, and crowing! Hadn't heard it for quite awhile, but today she was doing it again.

 

[Denim Deb]

And my one hen turned out to be a full fledged rooster. I asked the feed store where I got my chicks what to do w/him since they were guaranteed hens. Their solution? Eat him. :/

 

[Javamama]

Timely discussion for me!
I have one hen that has turned terror. She is an EE and about 2.5 years old. She molted at the beginning of summer and has never been the same. She has taken on a selfish rooster-ish role, brutal on all the other hens - pinning them to the ground and holding them there, she won't let others near the food, and has just decided that the huge chicken yard isn't good enough - she must have my space too. And of course she isn't laying anymore. She will spend hours looking for a way out of the chicken yard to get to the duck food. This week I have noticed her standing on the fence rail for long periods of time. No crowing yet. Glad to say, she will be culled this weekend. It's been a long time coming but I haven't had the time to do her in.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

ok so i wasnt making this up?!?!??!

we couldnt figure out why that golden roo (a buff orp) just started developing a comb and crowing. his hatch mate was part of the last rooster day. we were sure he/she was a hen.. but then "it" starting crowing and well, was it FarmFresh who said "when you start to crow its time to go"?

 

[Javamama]

I know- it's so weird. I probably wouldn't have believed it if it wasn't happening to one of mine. And I can already see another one that may change, and it happens to be the daughter of my, um "changeling". May as well put her on the chopping block too. She's always been aggressive toward me.

 

[BeccaOH]

"It" does look like an underdeveloped Langshan roo. The Langshan hens are tall. They do stand above my other hens (BO, BA, Marans, NHR) in the pen. Roos get even taller. A full developed Langshan roo will have a deep U between the neck and tail. They are lovely birds that are rather slow to fully develop and for the most part in my flock have all been gentle.

Interesting about the sex change. I have a SLW hen that did lay (not sure now). She hasn't changed feathering, but she challenges roos through the fence line and has done a mock crow. :/

 

[BarredBuff]

Are you sure this is true? If it was how could hatcheries sex chicks?
Altho I think I may have an Aussie doing this, but no crowing its the same size as hens. But looks roo ish to me.

 

[noobiechickenlady]

You learn something new every day. Wild!