Is she saying shes ready to mate?

[SummerCK]

My chicken keeps raising the feathers on her back to the point you can see the skin at the base of her tail and back two inches or so. She hasn't started laying yet but is around the age. Does this mean shes saying shes ready to mate? Or is she just cleaning her feathers?

Thanks for the help.

 

[Den in Penn]

They usualy do that when they are cleaning feathers. When they want to mate they squat.

 

[Pele]

Ditto. Chickens fluff their feathers in challenge, or to access the oil gland at the top of their tail.

The mating position looks more like they're pretending to be a plane on a runway, ready for takeoff.

 

[SummerCK]

Ok thank you and I like that analogy.