Kitchen Garden Forum

I've had a speckled ancona bantam for about 2 years which was bought as a hen. She has an upright comb which is a male characteristic but no spurs. We used to get the odd tiny egg which I assumed was her. About 2 months ago she started flying up on top of the hen house every morning when let out and attempting a crowing session. It's more a strangled squark than anything. She tries to dominate the rest like a cockeral would, but they just ignore her.

If she was really a male, wouldn't the crowing have started a lot earlier? She was fairly low down on the pecking order so could it be a ploy to get more status?

I would appreciate some advice as we didn't get a cockeral so we wouldn't upset the neighbours and now they have this to put up with.

Thanks

Sue

Apparently chickens do sometimes change, or appear to change sex. Have a look at a thread from a while back viewtopic.php?t=1087 as this does cover some ground.

I have no idea what to suggest though.

Thanks for that Chantal. I read the thread and my sexually confused chicken was bottom of the heap, so not a top hen thing. He\she has also had the upright comb from the start, so if it due to a damaged ovary, it must have been a birth defect or damage at a very young age. Still not sure why it has taken so long to surface though

Sue