Got another squatter! And a question...

[Patoot]

Hennie started laying last Thursday, which was within a week or so of her first squat. She had laid an egg everyday since. This morning, Matilda squatted DRAMATICALLY for the first time today! Woo hoo! Looks like I should have 2 eggs a day soon...or at least some days.

Here's the question:

Have you noticed that your hens become friendlier after they start squatting/laying? Hennie has always been friendly, but was particularly attached after she started squatting and laying. She follows me around like a puppy, while the others could care less unless I have treat. The others didn't really let me touch them either. Matilda came up to me today for no reason and just for the heck of it, I "tested" for a squat and got an obvious one. Now she is letting me touch her and stuff. Have you noticed this? The other two younger ones seem afraid of me unless I have a treat. They will eat from my hand, but are skittish around me. I wonder if they will come around too.

Just curious.

Bree

 

[gryeyes]

Yes, it appears that laying helps mellow 'em out. Makes sense to me, too. Until they actually lay eggs, they're just adolescents - and not very smart ones, at that. Then the hormones start running through 'em, they get all squirrely not knowing what THAT is about, and then when they lay their eggs, they get settled into their intended, natural role.

Wish it didn't take so much longer for the roos to settle into MATURITY. All that testosterone poisoning makes them annoying as heck for so much longer.

 

[Tracyfeltsmills]

yes, My Emma did the same thing. She is always under my feet and i always tell her thank you when i get her egg, She loves a stoke and nice job ! and i love it

 

[Morgan7782]

Absolutely I have noticed a change. My Brahma laid her first egg 6 days after first squat, and lays an egg every day and has since she started except for a break here and there. I have noticed a dramatic change. When I first got this pullet she was 5 months old and hadn't really been handled, so she was scared of me. Once she started laying though, she jumps in my lap, flies onto my back, LOVES being held and pet.

I have a Blue Wyandotte right now who is a real... Pistol. I am giving her time to lay and see if she changes after beginning to lay because my Brahma did such a turn around!

 

[LittleHouseOnThePrairie]

Good morning! I am newly registered as of yesterday. Nice to meet all of you! I am fairly new to owning my own flock also and, therefore, don't really know the terminology. Can you tell me: what do mean by "squatting?" I am excited to read from this thread that my pullets may become a bit friendlier eventually. I do have two mature hens (Jenny and Omelet) that love to follow me around the yard and chat with me while they "help" me with various chores.

 

[gryeyes]

LittleHouseOnthePrairie!

"Squatting" is the term for the posture a pullet (or hen) performs when she is submitting to the rooster so he can mount her. When she does it for her people, it's a sign of submission, too. They squat down, look at the ground, slightly spread their wings, and some even stamp the ground with their feet. Not all hens perform the squat. Some hens do it sometimes, and not others. When they FIRST start doing it, it's one "signal" that they are getting close to laying their first eggs.

I like to give 'em a little skritch at the base of the neck between the shoulders/wings, another at the base of the tailfeathers, then a soft pat on the back. They'll stand back up and shake their feathers before they walk away, just as they would do after a rooster has dismounted.

I think it's adorable and an honor when they do it for me.

 

[LittleHouseOnThePrairie]

Thanks for the info! And for the big welcome! Omelet, my buff orpington, squats...and now I actually know what she is doing!

I will watch for the squatting behavior in my pullets next month as they get closer to laying age.

 

[shaggy]

mine were skittish before laying


after laying they were pretty nice and ran from me less


then i got a rooster for the girls ... now they want nothing to do with me

 

[hallerlake]

I'll be curious to see if that's true. My two who are laying were always my friendliest. It would be nice if my two unfriendlies came around.

 

[Patoot]

I'll let you know when the other 2 get older. It will be awhile for them I think. That's okay.

Hennie follows me around like a puppy. It's adorable. I'll have to sit in a chair near her and see if she hops in my lap. That would be cute.

Bree