Why won't my Buff Orpington squat?

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Cynthia707

Cynthia707

Chirping
5 Years
Jul 28, 2014
25
7
59
My BO pullet is just over 24 weeks and has been laying for more than 2 weeks, but she is showing NO signs of squatting. She's actually kind of feral, which is odd because I understand that this breed is known to be tame (she's my first Buff). I hand raised her from 2 days old, but she just does NOT want to be submissive. Any thoughts on this? I would love to be able to pick her up. All my other pullets (EEs, GLW, Australorp/Maran, and RIR) squat for me. Just curious if this is unusual, and if I can expect her to eventually start squatting? She's ranked 4th in a flock of 6 hens.
 
By the looks of it you have a US hatchery standard Buff Orp? If so they have leghorn bred into them to improve egg-laying and Leghorns are really skitterish, so it may come from this. I have 3 UK standard Buff orps which don't have Leghorn in them and only 2 of the 3 are tame. The other is also really skitterish. Not all hens will be submissive and tame even if the breeds are known to be. The only thing I can suggest is picking her up at night when she's perching and giving her extra treats to make her comfortable around you and getting used to being handled. Good luck!
 
Thank you, Johnn. Yes she is a standard hatchery BO. I didn't realize they were crossed with Leghorns. That explains it! I will try what you suggested. I do often pick her up to hold her when they go in to roost, and she squawks like I'm trying to murder her. It freaks out all the other girls. :)
 
I rescued a couple of Leghorns over two years. Yes, very skittish. Not my favorite birds to adopt, but I'll always be a good sport when they get rescued from the hatcheries around here.
 
I have a couple of hatchery Brown Leghorns. They're 18 weeks old right now and it's true, they are a little more cautious than some of the other breeds that we have, but I've noticed if you are patient and gentle in your movements, they will come around. Even skittish breeds will calm down if you are calm. I learned this with our first flock, which happened to be comprised of Silver Spangled Hamburgs. Don't even get me started...Lol!
 
Cynthia707 said:
My BO pullet is just over 24 weeks and has been laying for more than 2 weeks, but she is showing NO signs of squatting. She's actually kind of feral, which is odd because I understand that this breed is known to be tame (she's my first Buff). I hand raised her from 2 days old, but she just does NOT want to be submissive. Any thoughts on this? I would love to be able to pick her up. All my other pullets (EEs, GLW, Australorp/Maran, and RIR) squat for me. Just curious if this is unusual, and if I can expect her to eventually start squatting? She's ranked 4th in a flock of 6 hens.
Click to expand...

Lovely birds!
 
Cynthia707 said:
Thank you, Johnn. Yes she is a standard hatchery BO. I didn't realize they were crossed with Leghorns. That explains it! I will try what you suggested. I do often pick her up to hold her when they go in to roost, and she squawks like I'm trying to murder her. It freaks out all the other girls. :)
Click to expand...
Good Luck with her, she should calm down soon. My Welsummer is still very skittery, but my others who were skitterish calmed down after they matured a bit :)
 
Well, I figured out today why Boomer isn't squatting for me. She is squatting for Lady Sybil, my alpha EE hen. Apparently to Boomer, I don't rank. At least I know she CAN squat. What's funny is that Sybil squats for me every time she sees me, yet Boomer doesn't recognize my authority. Haha. Chickens are funny.

Sybil is on the far left in this photo (Boomer is the big yellow buff).

 
Last edited:
Cynthia707 said:
Well, I figured out today why Boomer isn't squatting for me. She is squatting for Lady Sybil, my alpha EE hen. Apparently to Boomer, I don't rank. At least I know she CAN squat. What's funny is that Sybil squats for me every time she sees me, yet Boomer doesn't recognize my authority. Haha. Chickens are funny.
Click to expand...

Aren't they just?

Lol!

Our first flock was comprised of Silver Spangled Hamburgs, some of the most flighty birds you could ever imagine. They wouldn't squat for me EVER. Although eventually the SSH roo got them to squat for him.
roll.png


Now we have another seperate large mixed flock and some of the girls are squatting for us already at 18 weeks, it's a very new experience. I'm used to getting a wing to the face when I try to pet a girl. Too funny.
 

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