uh.. submissive chickens?

[xanaxnation]

my girls are about 3 months old now. i have 3 of them. and today dh and i were sitting with them, he reached to hold one and he had one hand on either side of her wings, holding firmly but gently. then.. she did the weirdest thing. she put her head down and just.... sat there. they normally look around and talk to each other when one is being held. then he handed her to me and she laid down on her side, still with her head down. all 3 of them did the face down thing when he was holding them. theyve never done that with me. are they getting to the age where a rooster would handle them that way? or is it something else? im not worried about it.. just curious

 

[ChickenToes]

I don't have an exact answer, but I can relate. We have a pet chicken that we keep in the garage because she gets picked on by the others. She's an EE. She loves men. Me, not so much. But she loves perching on my husband's shoulder. The very first time my brother-in-law even touched her she perched on his shoulder. I try to touch her and she freaks out.

Edited to add: She started this behavior at about 3 or 3 1/2 months old.

 

[rooster-red]

They are sqwatting and bareing the back of the neck, where a rooster would grab them to mount them.

 

[Matt A NC]

She is squatting for her rooster. Chickens don't care about breed or even species. A bit early for her though. Most wait till just before they start to lay.

Matt

 

[PotterWatch]

It doesn't really sound like squatting to me. I just last week saw what real squatting is and it was far different than the relaxed sitting with head down that mine used to do when they just wanted to hang out with us.