I had an interesting interaction with one of my hens yesterday while working in the chicken yard. One of my light brahmas was getting curious and pecking around some of my building materials, and I put out my hand to pet her, expecting her to run away, but she crouched down and let me pet and scratch her around the head and neck. I thought this was interesting because normally when I walk into the chicken yard, all the hens are pretty skittish. I did notice similar behavior a couple weeks ago between the alpha hen and my barred rock, who is smaller and younger. The alpha was chasing after her and instead of continuing to run, the barred rock just crouched down and "let" the alpha give her a few aggressive pecks on the neck before moving on. I am curious of the roots of this behavior, if it has to do with the "pecking order" and who they see as the dominant figure in the area.
It's the ol' "Squat". It's what hens do to make it easier for a roo to get the deed done. If they consider you dominant (like a roo would be to the flock), they'll squat for you too.
My oldest buff did that the other day too. I always try & pet them & they run, but this time Buffy just laid down and I loved her!
If I walk up on one of my hens suddenly, say turn a corner and find her there, she'll automatically go into the squat. Then when she sees it's just me she'll stand up and give me a look that clearly says "oh it's just you, nevermind!"
This behavior is also a good sign that a new pullet will start to lay soon. From first squat to first egg is normally around 1-4 weeks. My laying flock doesn't currently have a rooster with them. Several of these hens squat for me anytime I try to pet them. Most are tame and will stand there if I pet them, but the squat is quite different. As stated above it helps the rooster to get on, but it also protects the hen from the weight of the rooster. A sexually aggressive rooster can easily hurt a hen if he doesn't give her the time to squat. I have a couple hens with broke keel bones because of 'AJ'. He went to "freezer camp" after he killed 2 hens and hurt those. He was fine for 2 years, but then just started jumping the hens hard. Matt
My Top bird of the pecking order, B Master B, is the first one to assume "the squat", it's so silly looking to see her like that.
