Oh my gosh! I might have gotten a squat!

[gryeyes]

I always give a good skritch between the wings/shoulder blades, another at the base of the tail, then pat 'em on the back and say, "Good girl!" They stand up and shake their feathers out before they walk away. It's so.... evocative..... of "Well, that's that."

 

[Cebarmlds]

What does the squat mean? Mine will squat if I reach down to pet them but the one in molt won't do it any more, she will just run away.

 

[Patoot]

Okay, she is definitely squatting!!! She did it twice. The second time I scratched her thighs like one poster said and she hunkered down even further and stamped her legs. After I stopped, she shook all over! She did everything you guys said. Woo hoo! I have my first egg on the way.

Not that's there's a rule, but how long do they usually start to lay after you start noticing a squat? Days or weeks?

Woo hoo! She's my fav girl too.

Follows me everywhere.

Bree

 

[SportChick]

I did a youtube search for chicken squat and didn't get anything even remotely related to poultry. What is a chicken squat?

 

[gryeyes]

It's when a pullet actually squats, lowers her body and holds very still, so the rooster can mount her. When a pullet (or hen) squats for a person (or the family dog, even) it means she is showing submissiveness to someone with HIGH rank in the pecking order, equivalent to that of the rooster's. Some of them will also do a little foot stamp at the same time.

Do a search HERE in BYC for "squat" or "squatting" and a lot of threads will pop up for you to see. There have been some members who have uploaded videos of a hen squatting to You Tube. You'll find those links in those posts.

 

[SportChick]

Thanks for the clarification. I will have to pay more attention to see if my girls are feeling the urge to lay eggs. My rooster is 4 weeks younger than the hens, but is already trying to test out his ability to charm them.

 

[4hens4us]

Quote:
Patoot, I'm dying to know too how long before an egg will appear after the hen begins with the squatting. One of mine has been doing it for about 5 or 6 days now. I want an egg!!! My girl who I really think is ready is 25 weeks old. I found this info on squatting yesterday on this site and got so excited that it is really a sign that she'll be laying soon. But I'm so anxious - how soon? Hopefully within the next few days we'll both have eggs. Fingers & toes crossed....
Jen

 

[Patoot]

Yes I'm so psyched too. Hopefully within the week for me and a couple days tops for you!

Bree