My most recent chicken related pursuit is to determine whether my chickens are hens or roosters. They should all be hens, but sometimes things appear that make me curious. For example, around 2 months they all had small bumps that appeared just above their feet. Are these spurs? No, it turns out many hens grow these small bumps, but it is only on roosters that they grow into inch long extensions. Our hens have bumps, but they are just that- bumps.
Recently the ladies have starting to make real chicken noises rather than just peeps. I had a bit of a scare last week when I picked up my favorite hen Alice and rather then her normal long hum sound she made a couple short clucks followed by a long groan. Was this her attempt at crowing like a rooster? In a bit of a fright I rushed her inside to the kitchen where my husband was making dinner and said to him, “listen to this! Does that sound like a rooster noise to you?”
This was followed by a frantic google search for chicken noises, to try to figure out exactly what kinds of noises hens make vs what kinds of noises roosters make. Remember, I did NOT grow up around chickens or even close to a farm, so I really have no idea what to expect. Well, it turns out that hens are able to make some pretty loud noises, especially when they are about to lay an egg (do a youtube search, it is very funny to hear!).
Feeling once again quite content that indeed all my chickens are hens, I put the girls to bed.
The very next day, while getting ready for dinner, I heard loud noises coming from the back yard. “What on earth is that noise?!” I exclaimed. Imagine my surprise when I opened the back door, peeked out, and found Maggie was the creator of such a racket! There she was making the exact noise I had heard just the evening before and associated with the noise that hens make just before they lay an egg. Was Maggie going to lay an egg?
I called to my daughter and husband, “come look at this! Do you think Maggie is going to lay an egg? She’s only 3 months old!”
After a minute or two of shock and amazement, and some logical thought, I remembered more about what I had read the day before about hens making loud noises. They make these kinds of noises before they lay an egg AND when they are frightened. Hmm…
As I scanned the yard for predators I noticed peering from under the bushes directly across from the chicken run a small cat. Maggie, who for a long time was the biggest hen, but has since become one of the smallest and we assumed the least dominant hen, was showing that her role was still the protector hen.
The loud noises continued for a little while. The kitty was very curious about these large birds, and continued to peer at them even after the hens were locked up in their coop. Eventually the cat moved on, and the girls went to bed putting an end to an evening of excitement.
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