Why are my girls suddenly squatting and stomping their feet when I reach for them?

[DimondaleBergs]

LOL Ok....newbie question here....in the past week, I've noticed that my 16 week old girls have started squatting low to the ground and stomping their feet when I reach for them. Why? LOL Nothing has happened that I'm aware of to make them afraid of me.
Thanks

 

[what did I do]

That is normal behavior. Are your hens laying? If not they should start soon.

 

[tfis4life]

I agree with ^^^^ They should start laying soon if they are not already. That is the "squat" they do when allowing the rooster to mate. Pet them and give their feathers a scratch, after they will stand up, puff out, and shake. It is actually quite cute. All of my girls that are old enough stop for a scratch when I come in the coop!

 

[disrhythmic]

So that's why they do that! I thought they just didn't like the sudden movement when I bent down to pet them too fast.

 

[DimondaleBergs]

So that's why they do that! I thought they just didn't like the sudden movement when I bent down to pet them too fast.

LOL I thought the same thing! Glad to know I haven't done something to scar my girls! lol And exciting to know that they should start laying soon! I so can't wait! lol

Thanks everyone!

 

[wsmith]

I agree with ^^^^ They should start laying soon if they are not already. That is the "squat" they do when allowing the rooster to mate. Pet them and give their feathers a scratch, after they will stand up, puff out, and shake. It is actually quite cute. All of my girls that are old enough stop for a scratch when I come in the coop!

Yup. They are being submissive to you, the flock leader.

 

[aggiemae]

It sounds like they know who's the flock leader and if they aren't laying already I expect they will be soon!

 

[DimondaleBergs]

They actually started laying yesterday!

How exciting! lol I got one small egg, and one a little bigger yesterday. And then tonight, I got another of the little bigger ones. I can't wait til they all start earning their keep! lol

 

[Rock Home Isle]

LOL Ok....newbie question here....in the past week, I've noticed that my 16 week old girls have started squatting low to the ground and stomping their feet when I reach for them. Why? LOL Nothing has happened that I'm aware of to make them afraid of me.
Thanks

This act signifies that they recognize you as the top bird of the flock...congratulations

 

[DimondaleBergs]

This act signifies that they recognize you as the top bird of the flock...congratulations

LOL Thanks...it's funny because now sometimes if they just hear my voice a couple of them will do it..lol...Their run is set up so that they can actually see into one of the windows of our finished basements, so sometimes I open the window and talk to them..lol I never realized how personable chickens could be until I got the girls.