Squat test

[loulusea]

Hi!



Question: when you try to pet or place your hand on the back of a young chicken, is it pretty telltale if the chicken goes to squat rather than run it's a female? Regardless of breed?



I have this one young chicken that I think might be a young cocker roll just because of the waddle and comb development at this young age maybe 5 weeks old. And every time I go to put my hand to pet it on the back of its back to like gently test if it'll squat it runs away it never squats but then I have others around the same age that when I do that they do the traditional squat of what a hen would do.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

Question: when you try to pet or place your hand on the back of a young chicken, is it pretty telltale if the chicken goes to squat rather than run it's a female? Regardless of breed?

Only females will squat, unless your male has something wrong with its hormones or gets overly startled (example: I once accidentally startled my rooster and he squatted, but that was a defensive squat because he did not know what I was at first. Chickens defensively squat to protect their underbelly but that is only when they are startled). The mating squat of a female is crouching down, lowering her tail and spreading her wings a bit. This move is telling the male that he can proceed with mounting her, but they also do it when a human pets their back. Pullets going into lay squat for humans much more often than hens. Although, keep in mind that not all females squat－only those who are not dominant will squat, because squatting shows weakness and submission. Therefore, females who are in the middle of the pecking order or lower will squat, while the higher-ranking females will not. Females squatting at five weeks is unusual because that is not when they go into lay. Post a picture of your chicken and I can sex it.

cocker roll

Cockerel, not cocker roll.

waddle

Wattle, not waddle.

 

[wrathsfarm]

Only females will squat, unless your male has something wrong with its hormones or gets overly startled (example: I once accidentally startled my rooster and he squatted, but that was a defensive squat because he did not know what I was at first. Chickens defensively squat to protect their underbelly but that is only when they are startled). The mating squat of a female is crouching down, lowering her tail and spreading her wings a bit. This move is telling the male that he can proceed with mounting her, but they also do it when a human pets their back. Pullets going into lay squat for humans much more often than hens. Although, keep in mind that not all females squat－only those who are not dominant will squat, because squatting shows weakness and submission. Therefore, females who are in the middle of the pecking order or lower will squat, while the higher-ranking females will not. Females squatting at five weeks is unusual because that is not when they go into lay. Post a picture of your chicken and I can sex it.


Cockerel, not cocker roll.


Wattle, not waddle.

This is a great post

 

[DonyaQuick]

Mostly it’s a good indicator but not 100% of the time. I’ve had a few pullets that didn’t squat until very much later for an actual rooster, one cockerel that did squat in response to my hand for a couple weeks, and another submissive cockerel that squatted a couple times for a more dominant one. I also have one hen that periodically does the wing dance that roosters do so nothing is set in stone lol. The norm though is that pullets will squat in response to a hand while cockerels will move out from under it.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

This is a great post

Thank you!

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

I also have one hen that periodically does the wing dance that roosters do so nothing is set in stone lol.

When females do the wing-dance to another female, they are telling her to get out of the way. It is an aggression thing for females, I have noticed. I also have seen females do the wing-dance at a cockerel or a rooster (but mostly the former) to tell him to also get out of the way.

 

[SilverBirds]

If it is only 5 weeks old squatting will not be an indicator. Look at the comb and wattle development.

 

[pipdzipdnreadytogo]

Yeah, I agree, squatting at 5 weeks is not a good indicator of sex. The squat is more a show of submission than a breeding thing; females submit to the dominant male of the flock to be bred, of course, but females will also squat for more dominant females in the group, and sometimes submissive males will squat for more dominant males in their group as well.

In my experience, younger males tend toward being submissive while younger females tend to flee because they are not near laying age yet and tend to be resistant to being bred so young. But that's just what I have seen in my birds.

 

[TLynne1]

Only females will squat, unless your male has something wrong with its hormones or gets overly startled (example: I once accidentally startled my rooster and he squatted, but that was a defensive squat because he did not know what I was at first. Chickens defensively squat to protect their underbelly but that is only when they are startled). The mating squat of a female is crouching down, lowering her tail and spreading her wings a bit. This move is telling the male that he can proceed with mounting her, but they also do it when a human pets their back. Pullets going into lay squat for humans much more often than hens. Although, keep in mind that not all females squat－only those who are not dominant will squat, because squatting shows weakness and submission. Therefore, females who are in the middle of the pecking order or lower will squat, while the higher-ranking females will not. Females squatting at five weeks is

unusual because that is not when they go into lay. Post a picture of your chicken and I can sex it.


Cockerel, not cocker roll.


Wattle, not waddle.

So, will rubbing her head work to "satisfy" her? As humans, what can we do to help (without doing anything crazy)? I just pick them up and rub their head for a minute or 2 because I now have 4 that are squatting. The first one (Rose), pecks when I pick any of the others up

 

[Shadrach]

Some cockerels will squat not only for other cockerels but also for their keepers. A lot will depend on how many males there are and their seniority.
Put in with a group of females as the only male and the squating for the keeper tends to stop.