Hen started acting like a rooster....

[Nonaoftwins0408]

I have a one year old Andalusian hen that has started behaving like a rooster. She has recently started mounting my other hens. I'm not sure what to do about it or do I leave it alone? I've pulled her off several times to no avail. She isn't showing any other signs or behaviors that would concern me. Just the mounting. What do I do? I guess it just irritates me more than anything.

 

[RoyalChick]

I have a non binary hen called Bernie. I just let her be. The hens she mounts don’t seem bothered by it.
She behaves like a rooster in other ways too - including running to attack a hawk that had pinned one of the pullets to the ground.
She doesn’t tid-bit or share food so it is clear where her priorities lie!
Unless she is upsetting the rest of the flock I just wouldn’t worry about it.
Here is Bernie standing tall like a rooster. She lays a beautiful dark brown egg about twice a week.

 

[Free Birb]

She’s probably trying to show dominance over your other hens.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It's normal for a hen to be the dominant flock master in a flock with no mature rooster. She takes over some of the flock master duties such as watching for predators or breaking up fights between the others. I would not call it common but it is not unusual for the dominant hen in a roosterless flock to mount some of the other hens to show her dominance. Obviously she cannot fertilize eggs but she typically touches vents as part of that dominance display.

I don't see that it does any harm. She should still lay eggs and do what a hen does. It does not mean she is "bent" or "weird" in any say, just that she is dominant. And the other hens typically cooperate to show they accept her dominance.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I have a one year old Andalusian hen that has started behaving like a rooster. She has recently started mounting my other hens. I'm not sure what to do about it or do I leave it alone? I've pulled her off several times to no avail. She isn't showing any other signs or behaviors that would concern me. Just the mounting. What do I do? I guess it just irritates me more than anything.

She's showing her dominance, it's normal, I've seen it happen in a flock that has roosters. Typically it's the head hen that does it.

 

[Nonaoftwins0408]

Whew! Thank you

 

[Buttercup is the best]

I have a similar problem, although it has started to affect the hens getting mounted. Their backs are bare, and I am worried

 

[PrettyBirdRocky]

I have a similar problem, although it has started to affect the hens getting mounted. Their backs are bare, and I am worried

I think you created a post as well. I've caged our hormal hen who is quite a pita(she's been in nearly a week). Doesn't help that she goes broody once a month and takes 5-6 days to break. Until she started in with the broodiness we hadn't had any issues out of her, she only mounts the lower pecking order hens (and not in a form to gain ground either)

 

[BC_MeNow]

It's normal for a hen to be the dominant flock master in a flock with no mature rooster. She takes over some of the flock master duties such as watching for predators or breaking up fights between the others. I would not call it common but it is not unusual for the dominant hen in a roosterless flock to mount some of the other hens to show her dominance. Obviously she cannot fertilize eggs but she typically touches vents as part of that dominance display.

I don't see that it does any harm. She should still lay eggs and do what a hen does. It does not mean she is "bent" or "weird" in any say, just that she is dominant. And the other hens typically cooperate to show they accept her dominance.

Honestly curious what “bent” means?