Squatting and such

[MrPaterax]

Thanks I guess

 

[schnebbles]

why do they do this? I got my first egg the other day but I haven't seen her squat but I'm not outside with them much lately.

 

[MrPaterax]

why do they do this?  I got my first egg the other day but I haven't seen her squat but I'm not outside with them much lately.

You mean the squatting?

 

[Three Silkies]

Sooooo excited. I bought 3 silkies 15 months ago. 2 of them turned out to be roosters. I got rid of one & kept the other to fertilise the eggs. Once 6 chicks were born, I got rid of the roo so I just had the mama hen & 6 chicks. After a few months, 3 chicks started crowing so I had to get rid of them too. Then the other 3 chicks grew large combs & wattles & started becoming aggressive. I thought they had to be roos too, cursed my rotten luck & prepared to get rid of them. The biggest "roo" started squatting a few days ago. Today, she laid an egg! For the 1st time in 15 months of keeping chickens, I finally have more than one hen. I got 2 eggs today and I couldn't be happier about it!

 

[Three Silkies]

I have a related question. When people say their chickens "squat," what does this actually look like? I know what a squat is, but my chickens do all kinds of wacky things but I haven't really thought of any of these behaviors as squatting - maybe a few times only. They're about 20 - 22 weeks old. They have pretty full and red combs/waddles, but I really haven't seen them squat a lot. Is it a subtle thing they do sometimes? I know this is a silly question.

I can only speak from my experience of my own hens, but mine aren't subtle at all - sort of like, when you see it (squatting) you'll know cause it's such an obvious squat. It's hard to tell from a picture, but here is a pic of my hen squatting (she laid her first egg today)!

 

[schnebbles]

yes, why do they squat?

 

[aart]

yes, why do they squat?

So a rooster can mate them.

 

[schnebbles]

oh! lol! I guess I imagined they didn't want the roos bugging them since I read that the roosters can be rough.

 

[aart]

They squat to the floor to help distribute the weight of the rooster on their back.
Chicken sex is rough looking, it's just the way they do....tho some roosters can be rougher than others.