# large protruding growth on chicken (ankle?)



## DWeber (Oct 21, 2020)

Hi. My Rhode Island red has a large protruding growth on her... (ankle?) - please see pics & please please let me know if you have any ideas on what it is or what I can do to help my chicken


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

That looks like a spur. Is it hard like a nail is?


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

Yup, looks like a spur, which is okay and normal.


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## DWeber (Oct 21, 2020)

thank you. It feels like the same texture as her feet.
she's been laying eggs every day since she came to our house over a year ago & is still laying... how does that work? do some hens morph into roosters???


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## DWeber (Oct 21, 2020)

Poultry Judge said:


> Yup, looks like a spur, which is okay and normal.


thank you.
she's been laying eggs every day since she came to our house over a year ago & is still laying... how does that work? do some hens morph into roosters???


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## DWeber (Oct 21, 2020)

robin416 said:


> That looks like a spur. Is it hard like a nail is?


thank you. It feels like the same texture as her feet.
she's been laying eggs every day since she came to our house over a year ago & is still laying... how does that work? do some hens morph into roosters???


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## DWeber (Oct 21, 2020)

+ it's only on one leg... no growth on the other leg


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

It does happen that hens will grow sort of spurs. They don't get as large as a rooster's. 

I'm not sure anyone knows why it happens.


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## DWeber (Oct 21, 2020)

oh ok, cool - thank you : )


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

And yes, under certain circumstances a hen can morph into a rooster.


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## Overmountain1 (Jun 5, 2020)

Poultry Judge said:


> And yes, under certain circumstances a hen can morph into a rooster.


Do tell more.....


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

I will try to keep this short. The hen does not one hundred percent change into a rooster, she cannot father chicks. The bird becomes phenotypically male, meaning that although the hen will develop physical characteristics that make her look male, she will remain genetically female but will no longer lay eggs. She takes on the flock role of the rooster as far as protecting the flock etcetera. This phenomena generally only happens when there is a flock of hens without a roo, and is still fairly rare to my understanding.


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## danathome (Sep 14, 2020)

DWeber said:


> Hi. My Rhode Island red has a large protruding growth on her... (ankle?) - please see pics & please please let me know if you have any ideas on what it is or what I can do to help my chicken


If possible, please post a side view of this bird. The head sure looks like a rooster!


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

Poultry Judge said:


> I will try to keep this short. The hen does not one hundred percent change into a rooster, she cannot father chicks. The bird becomes phenotypically male, meaning that although the hen will develop physical characteristics that make her look male, she will remain genetically female but will no longer lay eggs. She takes on the flock role of the rooster as far as protecting the flock etcetera. This phenomena generally only happens when there is a flock of hens without a roo, and is still fairly rare to my understanding.


Very true. I had it happen with a Black Australorp hen that changed sex. It even attempted to crow, a sick crow. I culled it.


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

dawg53 said:


> Very true. I had it happen with a Black Australorp hen that changed sex. It even attempted to crow, a sick crow. I culled it.


How old? and what was your rooster/hen ratio?


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

danathome said:


> If possible, please post a side view of this bird. The head sure looks like a rooster!


Yes, what Dan said, it is of interest to figure out that comb. I'd like to compare it with the RIR rooster Standard. This is an interesting phenomenon when it happens.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

Poultry Judge said:


> How old? and what was your rooster/hen ratio?


Gosh, it was so long ago back when I lived in Georgia. I had about 25 birds back then including two roosters and they all free ranged.
We had record high temps that summer, low 100's. Another Black Australorp up and died on me due to the heat. Both were about a year old. I've never owned Black Australorps again. They were hatchery chicks. The rest of the various breeds of birds in the batch did great. Perhaps poor genetics was the cause.


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## Overmountain1 (Jun 5, 2020)

That is truly interesting, at least from a social perspective, imo! I assumed that was what was meant by changing, but hey- crabs can and do ACTUALLY change sex so I had to ask. 

And to follow up on it before Robin asks- - we are still figuring this part of changing sexes out in the crabbing world. It is really hard to keep track of who is who when they're swapping shells, going under the sand, and changing their 'look' each time they molt. So, we know it happens. It has been proven using big pincer setae patterns to ID the crabs. (Those do not change; setae are the hairlike structures on their legs, they leave basically a bump on the shell always in same unique patterns, like a fingerprint kind of.) We just don't know how often or what exact conditions prompt the change yet.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Overmountain1 said:


> That is truly interesting, at least from a social perspective, imo! I assumed that was what was meant by changing, but hey- crabs can and do ACTUALLY change sex so I had to ask.
> 
> And to follow up on it before Robin asks- - we are still figuring this part of changing sexes out in the crabbing world. It is really hard to keep track of who is who when they're swapping shells, going under the sand, and changing their 'look' each time they molt. So, we know it happens. It has been proven using big pincer setae patterns to ID the crabs. (Those do not change; setae are the hairlike structures on their legs, they leave basically a bump on the shell always in same unique patterns, like a fingerprint kind of.) We just don't know how often or what exact conditions prompt the change yet.


Can't help it, I'm naturally curious about a lot of things.


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## Overmountain1 (Jun 5, 2020)

Girl, it is clear I am just the same! I just couldn't resist.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Poultry Judge said:


> I will try to keep this short. The hen does not one hundred percent change into a rooster, she cannot father chicks. The bird becomes phenotypically male, meaning that although the hen will develop physical characteristics that make her look male, she will remain genetically female but will no longer lay eggs. She takes on the flock role of the rooster as far as protecting the flock etcetera. This phenomena generally only happens when there is a flock of hens without a roo, and is still fairly rare to my understanding.


I've been thinking about this since you posted it.

I did have one Silkie that crowed even though there were a number of roosters in adjoining pens. She never laid an egg while I had her. And I never noticed the male in with her ever bred her.


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## danathome (Sep 14, 2020)

Hens crowing and developing male characteristics-hormone imbalance. I don't think it has anything to do with rooster/hen ratios. Things happen. This happens with most all species; even humans. I've had hen that crowed and then it stopped and ever after the bird acted as a normal hen-laying eggs and raising chicks. He/shes exist, Growing up on the farm we had cattle that were heshes; one n particular had both male and female sex organs. It's a strange world we live in.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Looking back we can probably find quite a few things we considered just a thing as being something that was actually telling us a thing. 

I would never have given that one hen I had a second thought except for what PJ posted.


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

dawg53 said:


> Gosh, it was so long ago back when I lived in Georgia. I had about 25 birds back then including two roosters and they all free ranged.
> We had record high temps that summer, low 100's. Another Black Australorp up and died on me due to the heat. Both were about a year old. I've never owned Black Australorps again. They were hatchery chicks. The rest of the various breeds of birds in the batch did great. Perhaps poor genetics was the cause.


Or perhaps additionally, environmental stressors were a factor that year.


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

Y


danathome said:


> Hens crowing and developing male characteristics-hormone imbalance. I don't think it has anything to do with rooster/hen ratios. Things happen. This happens with most all species; even humans. I've had hen that crowed and then it stopped and ever after the bird acted as a normal hen-laying eggs and raising chicks. He/shes exist, Growing up on the farm we had cattle that were heshes; one n particular had both male and female sex organs. It's a strange world we live in.


Yes it is!


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## Poultry Judge (Jul 15, 2020)

Overmountain1 said:


> We just don't know how often or what exact conditions prompt the change yet.


Fashion!


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