The chicken squat

[ChickenMamaC]

My 6.5 week old chicks all squat when you pet their backs. I read this is something they do close to starting to lay, but obviously we are a long ways out on that.
Any other reason for this behavior? It’s cute, and oftentimes it leads to the, lying down in your lap, but I’m just wondering if it means anything. Is it just being submissive?

 

[Kwimmer78]

The chicken squat is hilarious! It's perfectly normal my hens/chicks do it all the time. We have a fence in our backyard that they like to what we call "squat walk" underneath. Most chickens dont really like to be pet, your best bet is to just pick them up and pet them while you are holding them.

 

[FeatherstoneFrm]

I have two that jump up on my lap to be petted. One will lightly peck my arm if I stop to get me to start again.

 

[redblack10]

Don't you love watching "chicken TV"?

I am thinking that the squat is likely practice for being mounted, which is a kind of submission. I know that my older girls - if they are not interested in what a rooster has in mind - will not squat at all. A couple of my older girls will squat, when I reach for them, and it is their way of saying, "you have my permission to pick me up."

 

[Aapomp831]

It’s gross, but your hen is literally becoming submissive and sticks her vent up like that to signal that she wants someone to fertilize her egg. Mine do that; I simply remind them that I’m the wrong species.

 

[ChickenMamaC]

It’s gross, but your hen is literally becoming submissive and sticks her vent up like that to signal that she wants someone to fertilize her egg. Mine do that; I simply remind them that I’m the wrong species.