Hello! Is my 2yo hen turning into a rooster?

[weavingpachtie]

Hello! I have an enormous 2-year-old RI Red who lost a toe in her first summer, 5 Dominiques, and four 4-5 wk old chicks (2 Easter Eggers & 2 Wyandottes). I’ve gotten tips from this forum for a few years now(thanks!), but only recently made an account.

I recently read somewhere something like, ‘if your chicken has long, sickle tail feathers, then he’s a rooster,’ which made me do a double take. One of my 2-year-old Dominiques has really, really long tail feathers — they curl right over and sway when she walks. I know she’s a hen — she’s a good layer, and actually went through a really troublesome broody phase last year.

She also has a pretty pronounced single comb. My Doms are all from the same farm (the others came from the feed store)— some are closer to breed standard than others; they’re all on the small side, and all except Lady Constance have a short tail with wide feathers. I’ve done a good bit of googling on the subject, and come up more or less empty — everything I read emphasizes that hens do not grow sickle feathers. But Lady Constance does. Can anyone help me understand this? I‘m not at all concerned, just curious.

I keep meaning to get a photo of her, but I haven’t yet. I may have an old one somewhere. Her tail is noticeably longer this summer than last.

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
Long tails do not a rooster make.
Long pointed saddle feathers are male specific.
Hens can grow spurs and crow though.
I have two hens with spurs on both legs, 1 hen with a spur on one leg and another hen that crows.

 

[NatJ]

Some hens do have longer tail feathers than others, and some do have curves to them. So there is a chance you just have one of those hens.

Hens can also grow "male" feathers on rare occasions-- I believe it usually happens because of some kind of hormone problem. They do not actually turn into roosters (not able to sire chicks), but they can look like roosters and can start to crow.

 

[Lacy Duckwing]

It is possible, but extremely rare. Do you have any roosters other than her? She could be just taking domince, and trying to preserve her flock. Watch for rooster behavior like mating other hens and crowing.

Also, her hormones might be out of balance. Unfortunately, I don't know anything on their hormones, just if they're out of balance, you can get weird things like that.

Look for spur growth too. That's more common. I've had four hens grow spurs, and I've had several bantam hens crow. That means nothing, and can sometimes be normal.

 

[BlueBaby]

Hello, and welcome! Good luck with your flock!

 

[weavingpachtie]

It is possible, but extremely rare. Do you have any roosters other than her? She could be just taking domince, and trying to preserve her flock. Watch for rooster behavior like mating other hens and crowing.

Also, her hormones might be out of balance. Unfortunately, I don't know anything on their hormones, just if they're out of balance, you can get weird things like that.

Look for spur growth too. That's more common. I've had four hens grow spurs, and I've had several bantam hens crow. That means nothing, and can sometimes be normal.

No roosters — Hazel, the RI Red, generally takes the lead, injury and all. The whole flock (not including the chicks, who are still inside) is pretty laid back, though Lady Constance is definitely the feistiest of the Doms.

Thanks for the info! I’m going to have a look tomorrow for spurs.

 

[Isadora]

Hello, and welcome to BYC! I'm so glad you decided to join our friendly and helpful community.

 

[weavingpachtie]

Some hens do have longer tail feathers than others, and some do have curves to them. So there is a chance you just have one of those hens.

Hens can also grow "male" feathers on rare occasions-- I believe it usually happens because of some kind of hormone problem. They do not actually turn into roosters (not able to sire chicks), but they can look like roosters and can start to crow.

I’ve read this, too. We moved them outside a few weeks ago, which intuitively makes sense as enough of a disturbance to kickstart a hormone change. She’s had longer tail feathers from the start, but it’s definitely more pronounced this year. She’s completely healthy and happy, though.

 

[weavingpachtie]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
Long tails do not a rooster make.
Long pointed saddle feathers are male specific.
Hens can grow spurs and crow though.
I have two hens with sours on both legs, 1 hen with a spur on one leg and another hen that crows.

Thank you! Glad to be here. And thanks for the info!

 

[007Sean]

Howdy, and Welcome to Backyard Chickens.

Happy to have you here with us. Enjoy your time here at BYC!

Thanks for joining our community!