I have a mille fleur hen and for the past few weeks she has been sqwaking and clucking like crazy. Sometimes long dragged out crow sounds also come up. She only does it in the mornings, until someone goes out there and shuts her up. is this normal for hens? i know that it's a hen since she's been laying for a while. I'm just a little worried since the neighbours arn't too happy. I may have to get rid of her.

-- D (Muhawi@aol.com), December 19, 2001

Answers

Our chickens used to raise a ruckus at the same time every morning. I just thought they were being noisy. Then I saw the neighbors dogs were "visiting". The chickens were in a pen so no damage done.Perhaps your hen is sounding an alarm call?

-- VickiP. (countrymous@webtv.net), December 19, 2001.

We had a white crested black polish hen that we got with a batch of mixed hens we bought from a hatchery. Looked very prissy with that tophat of feathers, so my wife named her "Miss Priss". One day, when the hens got to be several months old, "Miss Priss" started crowing. Turned out she was a he. That's how we got a rooster named "Mister Priss." Doh!

-- chuck in md (woah@mission4me.com), December 19, 2001.

It is possibly the 'ground predator' alarm. Mine will give it when a stranger is around.

my Grandad once told me "There are 2 things that come to no good end - a whistling woman and a crowing hen"

When I stopped whistling [I wasn't allowed to at home], he told me it was just a saying and I should kep whistling since I whistle when happy.

-- carol (kanogisdi@yahoo.com), December 19, 2001.

We had a Road Island red hen who layed eggs regularly for two years. A guest who came for Thanksgiving dinner that first year named her Carmela, after some character on Sesame St. Well, early this summer, Carmela started to sound out a crow in the mornings. About 4-5 weeks later, she had it down pat. And at sunrise she started crowing. But she would stop the minute you came into sight. So I wasn't sure who the culprit was. I didn't suspect Carmela because we had her for over 4 years at that point. So one day I decided to spy on the enclosure long enough to catch the guilty party in the act. Well, it took about 15 minutes, but eventually, she cocked her head up and stretch out her neck and made that retched sound. That weekend she took a trip to the feed store and was "On Sale" by Saturday afternoon.

-- Dwight (summit1762@aol.com), December 19, 2001.

I had a crested polish hen that layed eggs one day while I was standing beside her she crowed. I became really confused desided that I was mistaken about her laying eggs because she was really a rooster. The very next day she went into the nest box and layed an egg. I was really really confused. I figured I better do some research about this. I thought maybe I would have to donate her for research but through my research I found out that it was not all that uncommon for a hen to crow and so she went on laying eggs and crowing until a skunk got her. I learned that skunks pee stinks really bad when it is sprayed directly onto you.

-- george (bngcrview@aol.com), December 19, 2001.