One of my hens now looks like a rooster -

[hedgehog]

either that, or someone snuck in and gave me a New Hampshire Red rooster!

It turns out that if the hen's right ovary is damaged, the left ovary takes over, but it is more dedicated to pumping out testosterone than eggs. So my hen looks like a rooster, but she's still acts like a hen.

The bird is still a good looking bird!

[dixiegrrrrl]

1. We had one of those...

It looked like, and acted like, a half grown hen, for months.
Much much longer than normal.....was much smaller than the rest of the flock.
Then one day, rooster characteristics showed up. But it was still only 2/3 size of its clutch mates...
We gave it away to someone who liked it.

[pscot]

2. Oh Noes! A gay chicken?

[fasttense]

3. I wonder if that is what happened to a Rhode Island Red I had.

She was laying eggs and everything like a hen, but would mount the other hens several times a day as if she were a rooster. The real Rooster didn't seem to mind and he never mounted her.

[hedgehog]

4. I've seen some of my hens do that - I think it's part of the pecking order.