What is the squat I keep reading about?

[gsim]

Quote:
I did the same with mine and they then began to squat as recognizing me as the boss chicken. The Buff Comets and the Black Aussies both will shake themselves like a dog coming out of a bathtub as soon as I quit scratching.

Regards making them lay sooner, I doubt introducing a roo will induce that at all. I would not introduce a roo until they are a year old.

 

[LeghornLisa]

The rooster will stress them more and that is the last thing you want....you want relaxed happy girls to lay...remember, they are women, we are ready when we are ready and not a moment sooner

If the rooster has not been with them, then they probably haven't had to do the squat...it is a submissive pose they do when the roo mounts them....I find it sad...my girls never did it until the boys hormones kicked in, now that my boys are gone, they are starting to relax but still do the squat when I try to pet them...

 

[sommrluv]

Can I be a voice of dissension? I used to raise Parrots and that squat with the wings extended is a showing of fear and a way to make themselves small, close to the ground. I honestly think it has little to do with laying eggs. I've seen chicks do this.

 

[mboreham1]

sommrliv - yes please be the voice of dissention! I posted a question just like this but about the leg stomping, my booted bantam squats and slightly spreads her wings when the dog goes over to sniff/check her out, i couldnt believe it when i was told she was squatting for a mounting - i have heard a lot of funny stuff but a 2lb bantam being mounted by a 30lb beagle! It may be a bit of both, she just started laying, squats for me but is scared of the dog. The RIR's just think they are queens of my castle, it is comical, stamp, stamp, stamp, just like i picture a teenager when they are told its bed time and they think they are above a curfew!

 

[RocketDad]

I'm going to disagree with the distension. What I witness in my chickens is a submissive gesture, but they enjoy the company of me petting them when they do. Except for Shadow. She bites me. I think she's figured out I'm not a rooster and she's not getting everything out of the experience that she expects. Some of the hens will come up to me and squat, it isn't always because I'm coming into their bubble.

My hens only started squatting when they started laying. I brooded the chicks in the utility room/office, with lots of human contact and conversation.

 

[write2caroline]

I have not observed any of my chickens squating and I have a rooster. I have seen him mount them but they don't seem to squat first. As far as a rooster making them lay. None of my Laced Wyandottes have laid any eggs. 2 are 7 mos old and 2 are 5 mos old - my only layer for the last 2 days has been my Barred Rock! (YEAH) I don't think having a rooster around will change how they ovulate necessarily. It might be more of a myth.

Caroline

 

[Robin'sBrood]

Maybe "the squat" is fearful submission?




I have a roo and I've never seen my girls squat for him... instead they scream and try to get away.

 

[possumqueen]

I don't think it's fearful. I think it's an invitation.

I had a flock of mixed hens with two roosters once. The smaller rooster was universally despised by the girls, and the bigger rooster was "Sugar Daddy." Many time I witnessed a hen run to Sugar Daddy, turn a circle or two and throw herself at his feet. It was downright embarrassing to watch!

 

[dovecanyon]

I do not believe it is fear. If a chicken is afraid it will squawk, flap, and run away. It is obvious that they enjoy being petted and rubbed/scratched when they are in the squat. Looks nothing like fear to me.

 

[sommrluv]

I still disagree. If you look at the chicken closely, it's staying still...almost playing dead without the full effect. I've hand raised many parrots and other birds, and it's all the same EXACT stance. Birds aren't a huge fan of having a hand put OVER the back of their feathers.

If you pet under their wings with one finger, or the feathers around their neck, that is more of a pleasure spot for them. You need a fairly tame bird to put your hand overtop of their wings. It's not natural for them, and that's how predators trap them, restricting their flight. I have birds that do flap and run away, but many have the stance that is a squat when approached, or if I stand up suddenly, etc.

This website acknowledges a fearful submission squat, but believes it is a precurser to egg laying. My chickens did this long before they were laying. And of course, parrots don't lay eggs on a daily basis.

http://www.starvingofftheland.com/

here's another link from a question and answer, where the bookwriter also believes it is submissive behavior:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/keeping-chickens/chicken-submission-behavior/

I'll allow that possibly the chickens start to recognize the "pecking order" more in a flock, you being part of that flock, as it gets older, and naturally that can sometimes happen close to laying. So it's right and wrong, that a chicken squats as a precursor to laying.