9 week old pullet crowing?

[CoopyDoo]

My 9 week old Blue Ameraucana has been crowing the last few days. I'm pretty sure it's a she... I got her sexed from a hatchery at one day old. She looks like a pullet. She's definitely the dominant one out of my four. She spends her days chasing the others around and chest bumping everyone. She's kind of a jerk, honestly. I've attached some pictures, what do you think? Does she look like a pullet?

I can't have roosters where I live and my neighbor is already less than thrilled that I have chickens. I can't have her crowing. If she is in fact a pullet, how can I get the crowing to stop? Should I isolate her? If so, how and where?

I've been trying to research this and it seems more common in older hens. I can't find anything really on a pullet crowing, unless it's a mistaken cockerel. She seems awfully young for this behavior too. Any suggestions?

 

[Pyxis]

'She' is probably a 'he'. When I blow up the picture of him in profile, I can just see some rooster type hackle feathers starting to appear at the base of his neck. His comb also looks fairly pink and wide for this age.

Even if he's not a he, some dominant hens do crow, and if that's a problem in your neighborhood, you would have to rehome him/her either way, since there's not really a way to get them to stop doing it. You're correct in that it's also usually only older hens that crow. A bird crowing this young is almost definitely a cockerel.

You could always try a no-crow collar if using one doesn't bother you, though, and wait a little longer to see for sure if he starts showing more definitive signs of being a rooster before you rehome him.

 

[azygous]

I don't know, @Pyxis , it appears to be a pullet to me. By this age, cockerel feathering is usually pretty apparent. And the comb is pretty pale to be a cockerel of this age.

In the chicken kingdom, sexual characteristics of either sex can manifest themselves at any time. About the only gender roles and secondary characteristics that aren't fluid are insemination and egg laying, kind of like in humans.

I have had my share of crowing hens, some getting their crow down to an exact replica of a real rooster crow, so much so, they have all the right notes with the accompanying body language. Currently, I have two hens that like to crow.

By the way, I also have three hens with spurs.

 

[BreanneRN]

Like us, chickens can sometimes have hormonal and genetic issues which affect their sexual identity... Also, sometimes when there is no rooster in a flock, the dominant hen will take over that unfilled spot. If that is the case, usually the behavior disappears if a real rooster joins the flock... (though I guess that isn't much help if you can't keep a rooster). I believe you have a pullet, but suggest you trade your bird to somebody who has a rooster for a non-crowing pullet... The neighbors are not going to care if the crowing comes from a female, they are just going to want it to stop... Or perhaps you can bring in a rooster temporarily to stop the behavior, or take your pullet back from the place with the rooster if the behavior stops and hope for no recurrence. Good luck! To me, your bird looks like a pullet. I guess sometimes, mother nature gets even when we mess with her plans...

 

[Pyxis]

I don't know, @Pyxis , it appears to be a pullet to me. By this age, cockerel feathering is usually pretty apparent. And the comb is pretty pale to be a cockerel of this age.

Definitely could be a pullet for sure! If this one were mine, I'd probably be keeping it longer (if the OP can; the crowing may be a deal breaker in terms of keeping it) and see what happens with it. I've had a couple cockerels that were really late bloomers and kept me guessing for months. But it could also be a crowing pullet, too.

I've got a bantam hen that crows, and have had a hen with spurs too. I think this one could really go either way at this point.