9 Chicken Behaviors Explained

1. Dirt Bathing

You may have seen your chickens laying on their side, kicking dirt up at themselves. What is this all about? It looks funny but it has purpose. Dirt actually helps them keep their feathers clean and strong. It helps to repel and get rid of mites and lice, and soaks up excess oils and moisture. Chickens enjoy doing this socially with other members of their flock and will often have favorite bathing spots. I call it their spa time.

If you don't have fresh, dry and sandy dirt available to your hens, you can easily create a dust bath for them. A good mix of potting soil, lime and sand placed into a large tray does the trick. Lime helps prevent all kinds of parasites.

2. Sun Bathing

Have you ever seen a chicken laying on its side spreading its wing and leg out? It's one of the cutest behaviors in my opinion, and it reminds to slow down and thoroughly enjoy the moment. Sometimes they can be lying so still they almost look dead, but don't be alarmed! Sun bathing not only feels relaxing and wonderful to a chicken, it also helps prevent parasites while providing them with much-needed vitamin-D. Sun bathing also helps disperse oils through their feathers, and you may see them preening right after a good session.

3. Broodiness

When a hen goes broody, it means she believes her eggs will hatch and has decided to mother them. She will sit on them and protect them with fury! If you've never heard a chicken growl, you'll hear it while she's broody. She may try to peck you if you attempt to make contact with her eggs.

Broodiness is a behavior that is effected by the chicken's DNA. Some breeds are more likely to go broody than others. Many production breeds have been selectively bred to eliminate the broody personality trait, as it effects egg production. Broodiness is a desired trait for a lot of heritage breeders who prefer their chickens to be raised in the most natural way possible. For hatcheries and egg farms, not so much. If you want a breed that will make a good mom, Orpingtons, Silkies, Barnevelders (pictured), Cochins, Brahmas, and Sussexes are a few of the broodiest breeds.

The hen will stop laying while she is broody, which lasts for 21 days unless she is "broken" of her broodiness. For more information on how to break them of broodiness, read my article about it here.

A hen does not have to mate to become broody. Sometimes, their hormones just send them the signal without having any roosters around.

4. The Egg Song

Chickens have a loud and boisterous "egg song" after laying an egg. Well, it's less of a melody and more a series of spine-tingling squawks and cackles. Why do they have an egg song, you ask?

The short answer is, we aren't completely sure. But there are a few theories out there.

Theory #1: Distract predators. The hen may be attempting to draw predators away from her eggs by creating a noise distraction. She is trying to ensure the survival of her eggs and sacrificing herself. This theory doesn't entirely make sense to me, since the eggs need the heat from their mother in order to survive, along with daily rotation. Perhaps she believes her flock mates may take over in case of her demise.

Theory #2: Signal to the flock that she is done and ask them to rejoin her. Her flock may have wandered off during laying and she is asking them to regroup from afar. Chickens are safer in groups and rely on each other for survival.

Theory #3: Signal to the rooster that she is ready to mate again. Some people have observed roosters joining their hen in their egg song, doing a dance and then mating. It very well could be an instinct that says "ok, time to reproduce again!"

There are a couple of other theories out there, but the fact is we may never know the answer behind the mystery of the egg song. We've lived alongside these birds for thousands of years and yet, we still don't know everything that goes through their heads.

5. Scratching and kicking dirt

Scratching and kicking is one of the most common behaviors that you'll see on a daily basis. It simply allows them to sift through dirt and find all the bugs and tiny rocks that they need. Yes, chickens eat tiny rocks. This is actually required for their digestion. If your chickens don't have access to free range areas with plenty of dirt and gravel, you can purchase grit for them at your feed store. It is essential for crop health.

Chickens can see extremely small details from quite far away, so they can see tons of tiny mites and seeds that we can't see with our naked eye, especially at a distance. Watch them doing their foraging and you'll see a pattern. Scratch scratch, pause and look, scratch scratch. Scratch scratch, pause and look, peck, scratch scratch. And so on. I honestly can never get enough of watching this. There is something so simply and primally satisfying about watching a chicken do the most chicken-like thing. Then, I imagine all those caged hens in factory farms never getting to do the most chicken-like thing. And it makes me incredibly sad and angry, and also so grateful that my chickens get to live a natural and free life.

6. Purring

Yes, chickens purr! And by all accounts, they purr because they are happy, just like cats. Most people who don't have chicken experience are shocked to hear that they are actually pretty affectionate creatures. When they are trusting of you, they actually very much enjoy sitting on your lap and receiving pets. This is often when you'll hear them purr. It doesn't quite sound like a cat's purr, it's a little more high pitched. It is so pleasant and rewarding to hear a chicken purr at you, signaling that she trusts you completely and is feeling relaxed in your presence.

7. Squawking at the sky

Chickens have at least 24 different vocalizations (that we know of) all with distinct meanings. They even have different warning sounds for ground versus sky predators. When a chicken looks up at the sky and makes a shrill, high pitched but muted screech, they probably saw a large bird flying by. They are warning their flock mates of potential danger from above. This should signal the flock to run for cover, or stay put if they are already in a safe spot. If there is a rooster in the flock he will most likely be the one to heed the warning. If there is no rooster, there should be a hen whose roll it is to be the watch dog. She will usually be the one to notice the potential threat first.

8. Crouching

Some hens will crouch in front of you, lowering their legs and tail, flattening their back, and

stomping on the ground with their feet. This is an instinctive response to a rooster, signaling to them that they have permission to mount. So why do they do this for people?

You might see many chicken keepers claim that it's because if there is no rooster, they see you as the rooster. Well, I don't necessarily believe that chickens are dumb enough to look at a human and think it's a rooster. In my experience, it's a sign of submission, respect and trust. In fact, some hens will crouch for more dominant hens in the flock, especially while being pecked on as a way to say "I'm submitting and I don't want to fight you".

Chickens don't want to mate with people, but they may see you as the leader of their flock, which is quite an honor. They are showing you that you are their leader and they recognize that. For some of my hens, it also seems to serve as a way to get attention. A few of them have been known to actually run up to me from across the pasture at full speed, then crouch down until I pet them.

This behavior is connected to hormones, however, as it only occurs after a pullet has reached her egg laying age. If you notice a pullet begin to crouch for you, she will soon begin laying eggs.

9. Pecking at the color red

Chickens are naturally attracted to the color red. This stems from an instinct to peck injured flock members to death in order to avoid being detected by a predator, and to keep them from slowing the flock down. I know, it sounds harsh. Nature is efficient and survival instincts are key to life. When you have animals living in a group such as birds in a flock, everyone's survival depends on each other. If even one member is weak, it's a risk to keep them around. So, their biological makeup tells them to wipe out anyone who is bleeding. That being said, I've also seen some chickens behave very compassionately to sick flock members. This is seemingly going against their biological makeup, which is quite fascinating to me every time I see it.

So, the moral of this story is, always isolate injured flock members until they recover. It's a good rule of thumb to always have an enclosure ready for someone who may need to be isolated. I have a large dog crate that is dedicated to this purpose.