Any help for gender confused hen?

[tiki244]

My Millie Fleur D' Uccle 18 month old hen started crowing a monthor so ago. (and yes we do have plenty of roosters around here so she doesnt need to become a rooster) So then a feww weeks later she rips her feathers out of her chest and becomes broody within the week. I finally see her sitting on a nest and acting broody. Well over the past 2 weeks the eggs have mysteriously disapeared(suppose she is eating them as she hasnt left the attic in the coop that I know of). Well now she has no eggs, is still doing the broody prance every once in a while and still crowing. She has taken over the attic as her domain. And now this morning I saw her fighting with her rooster mate. This has all happened within hmm (5 weeks?) SoI am wondering if there is any hormone or anything I can give her so she will stay female or is she doomed to 'convert' when she molts? Will she stop this behaviour at some time? Thanks

Why is she acting this way?

 

[Miss Lydia]

Quote:
That is strange behavior for sure. When one of my hens hatched her chicks I was watching her with them one morning and all of a sudden she let out a crow, then in a few minutes she did it again. well I was shocked I had heard of hens crowing if there isn't a roo but i am like you we have plenty of roosters. As for your hen going broody and possibly eating her eggs, well that is a possibility too, or could there be a snake in the attic? I know hens have been known to eat their eggs, but I am wondering if your hen has something going on that is causing this strange behavior. Possibly metabolic, I don't know of any kind of hormone that a chicken can take not that there isn't something that might help. Maybe put her on some vitamin theraphy. Or call a shrink[just kidding] wish i had the answer, but sometimes hens are just plain nutty, I have a few game hens that are crazy. Let us know how it goes with her.

 

[lampshadeee69]

Ive got a black rock hen who has the same sort of "ailment." Ive read its because of some type of microscopic fungus that grows on some types of feed. When a chicken ingests it, the fungus acts like testosterone in a hen's body. This can cause crowing, spur growth (like in my hen), and wattle/comb overdevelopment (also in the case of my hen). I dont know if the removal of the fungus will reverse the effects or not. I got my hen last november, and she was so masculinized that i thought she was a rooster until she popped out an egg! I wouldnt worry too much if your hen is broody, though. Mine went broody in late may and now has a proud half polish half black rock chick following her! (The chick's siblings were eaten by a raccoon though, sad.) Although she might seem gender confused, deep inside chickens know what they were intended to do. Just remember, many chickens have had their broodiness bred out of them. Some will go broody and then abandon the eggs in a few days too. I would just hope to be patient.

 

[tiki244]

Well thanks for the responses. Call a shrink

I never thought about a microscopic fungus. Hmmm Maybe I could look into that a bit more. Well tonight I found her on a perch, still clucky, but perching all the same. Still belting out the silly hen crows.

 

[tiki244]

Just an update on my hen. Well no crows from her today and since all her eggs are gone now she is perching, but hasnt gone outside yet. She is still a bit clucky but less than she was. I was so worried about the silly thing and then when I finally posted she appears to be improving a bit.

We did have a terrible bout of rain for weekson end a few weeks back and there was a place outside the coop that gathered water. I covered it up daily with a big boards and fencing and tried everything I could to make sure they didnt drink out of it but did see some doing that a bit. It had green stuff in it too. I had clean waterrers feet away and they go to the mud hole.

But I did a pretty good job keeping them away, . Maybe that was the cause?