The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: greengumbo on August 24, 2015, 03:33:17 pm
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One of our chickens just died unexpectedly. They are all pushing 3 years now and the lay rate has gone down. The chicken in question had an unusual life though.....
We raised 5 chicks from eggs and 4 were female, along with a lovely cockerel.
The cockerel grew and grew and then became ultra aggressive to us and so got turned into a curry one day.
However one of the females then grew a comb, wattles and started crowing and stopped laying.
Well that was her / him that just died. I wonder if another will take his place :)
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That can happen in hens. Can't remember the name but especially I think if there is no cockerel present. 3 is not bad for a chicken really, especially a hybrid.
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Really sad when that happens but I'm afraid that it does from time to time. :bouquet:
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Just been watching a programme about transexuals. If it can happen in humans it can in other species. Have heard of it in ducks. Whether it shortens life I have no idea.
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That's unfortunate about loosing her/him. One of my lecturers at uni used to breed rare breeds and various bantams and she said that it was quite acknowledged within the breeds to "change sex" or for hens to take on secondary characteristics of a cockerel (still anatomically female).
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One of my faverolles has been crowing like a cockerel, they all did, but she seems to do it more often and I can't pinpoint which one it is.
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one of are hens is trying to crow today and she is with the a cock and 6 hens
the oldest hen we have is 12 its the lads first chick he hatched