Squatting? When do they start?

CityChickens2011

In the Brooder
8 Years
Aug 2, 2011
52
0
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I have no doubt that this has been covered before, but after looking through the first 6 pages of this forum I have not found the answer. Can anyone tell me how soon a hen will squat if you lay your hand on their back? Are hens the only ones that do it or do the roos squat too if they are young? I am new to this and we hatched our first chicks this year. I am trying to tell if we might have any pullets or if they are all roos. I had pics up asking the sex and most of the opinions were mostly roo. Please explain roughly what age they will squat and if young roos do it too. Thanks everyone!
 
I think there's probably a great deal of variation, from breed to breed, but also just from chicken to chicken. I have a 17 week old flock. Some breeds are getting big, red combs and wattles, but no one has squatted yet. All my reading tells me that squatting means eggs is a comin', though!
 
Other than really submissive birds, most pullets don't squat until maybe 18 weeks plus - generally a week or so before egg laying begins. I think the mating type squat is a bit different than just a submissive ducking type squat though. The mating squat is lowered body (kind of flattish) with wings held out a bit to the side. You don't even have to touch them...with some I can just walk up to them and talk in a certain tone of voice and they will squat. Others I can reach out for (but still don't have to touch) and they will squat. And some just don't squat, no matter what.
So I think if they're squatting super early, you couldn't really use that as a way to judge cockerels from pullets...
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