The 5 reasons why hens crow
I received this question from one of my email subscribers:
“…recently one of my laying hens has started crowing... Do you know much about crowing hens?
Contrary to what Internet searches say, she's not the dominant hen in the flock (3rd out of 4). Although the more dominant two never seem to assert it with her, she's a Polish and about half the size of the others (even the one she's clearly the more dominant of), and seems to be treated a bit like the spoiled little sister who can do anything she wants.”
I answer this question in detail in the video below:
The 5 most common reasons hens crow
#1 The hen is taking the role of the rooster.
Sometimes, in flocks with no roosters, a hen may take on a masculine role. She may act as a sentinal for the flock, attempt mating with other hens, and yes—she may start crowing!
#2 The hen is diseased.
Laying hens commonly die from reproductive diseases and disorders. Sometimes, if a hen has had something go terribly wrong with her reproductive organs (for example, ovarian cancer), her hormones may change, resulting in crowing.
#3 The hen is aging.
After peak egg production (typically, the first couple years of laying), hens’ reproductive systems tend to slow down pretty drastically over the remainder of their lives. Sometimes, this slowing down is accompanied by hormone changes that result in crowing. Growing spurs is also common.
#4 The hen has a genetic disorder.
In the question posed at the beginning of this post, my subscriber states that his crowing hen is unusually tiny, about half the size of the other Polish hens in the flock. I suspect she has some kind of genetic disorder affecting her hormones. It’s speculation, but it makes sense.
For more on this topic, watch the short video at the top of this post.
#5 Genetics
Some hens are just genetically prone to crow. There’s nothing wrong with them—no diseases or disorders—it’s just their genes.
Longcrower hens are actually bred to crow. Longcrowers are chickens who, as the name suggests, have incredibly long crows. These chickens are often used in crowing contests—the rooster with the longest crow wins. And hens who crow tend to produce rooster offspring with longer crows.
You can see a hilarious video of a Longcrower rooster below. Be sure to watch it all the way to the end!
Sebright hens are also known for crowing. If you ever raise Sebrights, don’t be surprised if you have hens who crow.
You can see an example of a Sebright hen crowing below.
Adorable videos of crowing hens
Below, you can see a Sebright hen and another bantam breed hen crowing.
And here, you can see a crowing Brahma hen:
Fast forward to 40 seconds in to see this hilarious hen crow.
Some crowing hens have pretty pathetic crows. Check out the Barred Rock below.
Below, is a crowing game hen.
And this little crowing hen is adorable!