Does my chicken have the "hots" for me?

We have two backyard chickens, and we adore our girls Ruby and Julianna. We had a rooster that was hatched in my daughter's first grade class, but when he turned out to be a rooster we had to give him to a friend on a farm because we are not technically allowed to have chickens in our subdivision, and I think the crowing would have pushed things too far.
Anyways, Julianna started a new thing lately, when I walk by her, or feeding her, she stoops down and raises her tail feathers, like when a rooster jumps on a hen. I pet her, and give her a little back rub, and afterwards she ruffles her feathers looking very pleased . What a funny girl. Has anyone else seen such behavior?

nongmo said:

We have two backyard chickens, and we adore our girls Ruby and Julianna. We had a rooster that was hatched in my daughter's first grade class, but when he turned out to be a rooster we had to give him to a friend on a farm because we are not technically allowed to have chickens in our subdivision, and I think the crowing would have pushed things too far. 
Anyways, Julianna started a new thing lately, when I walk by her, or feeding her, she stoops down and raises her tail feathers, like when a rooster jumps on a hen. I pet her, and give her a little back rub, and afterwards she ruffles her feathers looking very pleased . What a funny girl. Has anyone else seen such behavior?

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It's a common behavior when there is no rooster present. Your hens now see you as the new rooster.

nongmo said:

We have two backyard chickens, and we adore our girls Ruby and Julianna. We had a rooster that was hatched in my daughter's first grade class, but when he turned out to be a rooster we had to give him to a friend on a farm because we are not technically allowed to have chickens in our subdivision, and I think the crowing would have pushed things too far.
Anyways, Julianna started a new thing lately, when I walk by her, or feeding her, she stoops down and raises her tail feathers, like when a rooster jumps on a hen. I pet her, and give her a little back rub, and afterwards she ruffles her feathers looking very pleased . What a funny girl. Has anyone else seen such behavior?

Click to expand...

It's actually normal for hens to squat when touched, as that generally signals maturity and egg production. Almost every one of my hens does this when I either talk to them or reach down to pick someone up. Pretty cute, huh? I find it ironic as well as hilarious that my girls seem to enjoy squatting for me, but absolutely refuse to back down to a young 19-week-old Lavender Orpington cockerel that I raised. Nothing's more amusing than watching the older, more established hens beat him to a pulp whenever he attempts to dominate them. I'm talking an 8 lbs. roo who's still growing pitted against a lone 3-4 lbs. Golden Campine girl. Sometimes three at the same time will gang up on the poor guy and run him off.

-Alex

If you don't have a rooster, this is very common behavior for a hen that's reaching sexual maturity. It's usually a sign of eggs incoming!