Hen wants me to mount her?

[Brindlebtch]

My girls do it, too. They want a 'hand shag' I think Purple Chicken called it.

 

[1birdlady]

Two of our 4 BR's are old enough to do this, and when they squat with wings out, we just give them a good "scritch" on their back and they're good to go.

Two have barely begun to lay and the other two are just not as mature, tho they are all the same age.
We raised them from chickdom at 3 days old.

And yes, it sure does make them easier to catch and put up at bed time.

 

[BeardedLadyFarm]

Does this behavior go hand in hand with egg laying? I have 4 that are of age, and 4 more that are almost of age, and a couple have just started the squat.... Fingers crossed! I'm going to be so shocked when it actually happens.

 

[1birdlady]

Quote:
Well, just in our limited experience, 2 of our 4 started the squat about a week before they started laying, so have the nest box ready with a dummy egg in there. (That's what we did and it seemed to work).

Our 2 that matured at a more rapid rate than the other 2, started laying last Sat (the 22 August), and so far we have 8 eggs. They are the equivalent of store bought "mediums"........but lovely light brown and firm shells and the one we opened, so far, has a gorgeous yolk and good consistency.

They're Barred Rocks and about 19 weeks old + a few days.....

Yay...you're getting eggs VERY soon, I would guess!

 

[speckledhen]

Yes, it does, to a degree. They squat to receive a mate and begin laying eggs not long afterward.

 

[lindym]

Hummm, I have one that has loved me from the beginning, but now that she is (possibly, don't know sure who) laying, if she is anywhere near me she drops like a rock, stays down until I quit petting her and move away

There are 4 hens and they are all getting a bit friendlier everyday. They are 19 weeks and we got them at 1 day old.

Linda

 

[cthrash1]

My BR will walk around in the squat walk and talk to me anytime she is within 6-8 ft of me... I laugh at her cause she looks so silly. But I'll give her back a scratch if she stops anywhere close. She usually just walks back n forth then gets bored and heads out with the rest. Then she'll come back close by and do it again. This is a daily ritual for her. Now a few days ago I guess it is, my Black Australorp has started, but she's only done it the one time so far.

 

[tasymo]

My Girls do this all the time. Since we don't have a rooster, we "give them a thrill" now and then by giving them a good firm petting, then kind of grabbing the tail and scratching on either side. Most of them are very easily satisfied (you can tell they got their "thrill" when they fluff up and shake it off). One Barred Rock, however, will stamp her feet if you stop before she gets her "thrill", or if you fail to see her squatting for you. What can I say, I wanna keep my Girl's happy!

 

[tankernav1]

Oh my goodness. I never thought of "that." My kids have been laughing at one of our 8 girls that squats whenever we are around. We just thought she wanted to be picked up and was being friendly. Now two more are doing it. I think it is the exact 3 that are laying so it does seem to go hand in hand. The others just run from us if we go to pet them but the 3 will immediately stop and squat. We get such a kick out of walking around the yard and watching them follow us everywhere hoping for a treat. It's so fun to see them come running when we step outside in the yard. This is our first set of chickens and they are truly fun!

 

[MontanaMomma]

Thanks for all the input. I surely do not want my chickies to have some kind of complex...

But it seems I am doing the right thing- I pick her up, pet and scratch her a bit and put her back down so she can run off and avoid getting stepped on! I have had to start "putting them to bed" at night because they try to roost on top of the coop, rather than inside, so they are getting more used to me handling them and are less flighty every day. Any ideas for curbing this roosting in the wrong place problem?