When to allow chickens to roost

This is all so interesting! I am learning and I always love opportunities to do that.

Blooie said:

This is all so interesting! I am learning and I always love opportunities to do that.

Click to expand...

Ditto!

Thanks all. Most of our roosts are plenty wide and I think only one hen uses the one narrow one. I've been meaning to rotate that one anyway.

bcostley said:

A 4H judge told my daughter last summer that you shouldn't allow chickens to roost until they are 6 months old. Something about the keel bone could grow crooked if they roost too early. I've found nothing that indicates anything about age to allow roost. Is this anything someone can confirm/deny/explain?

Click to expand...

The old timers (that was back before it became my time to be an old timer) used to say that crowded roosts as chicks contributed to crooked breast bones. My thinking on the subject is that poor genes are more to blame for crooked keel bones. The old timers just didn't want to face the music and admit that their beloved brood fowl that had been in their family for a 100 years or longer was defective in any way. Just let it be said that if you will never breed, set, or save the eggs from any bird with a crooked breast bone, I don't think that you will have too many birds with this defect as long as you feed them properly.

bcostley said:

A 4H judge told my daughter last summer that you shouldn't allow chickens to roost until they are 6 months old. Something about the keel bone could grow crooked if they roost too early. I've found nothing that indicates anything about age to allow roost. Is this anything someone can confirm/deny/explain?

Click to expand...

The old timers (that was back before it became my time to be an old timer) used to say that crowded roosts as chicks contributed to crooked breast bones. My thinking on the subject is that poor genes are more to blame for crooked keel bones. The old timers just didn't want to face the music and admit that their beloved brood fowl that had been in their family for a 100 years or longer was defective in any way. Just let it be said that if you will never breed, set, or save the eggs from any bird with a crooked breast bone, I don't think that you will have too many birds with this defect as long as you feed them properly.
=====================
I do agree with chickengeorgeto. However, I also think the old timers have a case esp. with the heavy breeds like the Light Sussex. My point is, why hurry the project? It doesn't hurt the chicks to not roost until 6 months. My Light Sussex don't have roosts at all. They just snuggle down in the chips. I think all this Hurry and teach the chicks to roost is more for the humans than the chicks. After a lot of research, I can't remember ever finding anything worth considering seriously to indicate that it's bad for chicks to wait to learn to roost. I found a whole lot of advice counseling to wait till the chicks were older.
Best,
Karen

Never heard that but I'm of the school of nature knows best, my broody hen has decided it's time for her 5 and 7 week old to join her on the roost, the other 7 week olds not raised by a hen are also preferring to roost in the coop rather than sleep in the brooder pen as of this week, last night I found them huddled awkwardly on a low support brace. The last time they didn't make it back to the brooder pen they were cuddled up on the coop floor so obviously something told them to roost. On the other hand the eldest of my girls, 2 Pekins and 2 light Sussex didn't regularly roost till 5or 6 months old, they all do so now, the roost is a bit less than a meter off the ground, they have a ladder but usually just jump up
A photo from the first night the broody took her 2 chicks up


I think saying that your birds don't have a roost at all, that they are happy on the floor isn't really a broad opinion. Your birds don't really have the choice so of course they are happy on the floor!!

I have 2 different sized roosts (because that's what I had available) they alternate which they use depending on who's first up and who's friends with who that night

3riverschick said:

The old timers (that was back before it became my time to be an old timer) used to say that crowded roosts as chicks contributed to crooked breast bones. My thinking on the subject is that poor genes are more to blame for crooked keel bones. The old timers just didn't want to face the music and admit that their beloved brood fowl that had been in their family for a 100 years or longer was defective in any way. Just let it be said that if you will never breed, set, or save the eggs from any bird with a crooked breast bone, I don't think that you will have too many birds with this defect as long as you feed them properly.
=====================
I do agree with chickengeorgeto. However, I also think the old timers have a case esp. with the heavy breeds like the Light Sussex. My point is, why hurry the project? It doesn't hurt the chicks to not roost until 6 months. My Light Sussex don't have roosts at all. They just snuggle down in the chips. I think all this Hurry and teach the chicks to roost is more for the humans than the chicks. After a lot of research, I can't remember ever finding anything worth considering seriously to indicate that it's bad for chicks to wait to learn to roost. I found a whole lot of advice counseling to wait till the chicks were older.
Best,
Karen

Click to expand...

I agree that a large young bird that makes too many awkward dismounts from a too high a perch is at risk of either fracturing or malforming its keel bone.

I agree, it’s an interesting thread. There are some things in here that I’d never head of or considered before. The logic behind most of them makes sense. I wonder how much of this is more of a concern for birds raised for show that our normal backyard flocks. It’s not just that show birds are not allowed any imperfection but that they are going to be larger than our hatchery backyard flocks, both from genetics and diet. They may be more prone to this type of problem, heavier and more clumsy flying.

One reason I want mine roosting before they are laying is that chickens tend to sleep on the highest thing available once they start to roost. They often like a sheltered place to sleep if they don’t roost, often a corner of the coop. If your nests are the highest thing available or make a secure-looking place to spend the night you could wind up with poopy eggs. Showbirds are not normally bred to lay early. Six months may be typically before they start to lay. A lot of hatchery birds will be laying before that.

I also want my roosts high enough that the adults cannot peck the feet of chickens on the roosts. I’m almost constantly integrating, either broody-raised or brooder-raised chicks. When I go to the coop in the morning these immature birds are normally on the roosts out of easy reach of the adults walking the floor. I don’t know how people handle integration with birds raised for show. Probably all kinds of ways like everything else. The way I raise mine I would not be happy with roosts 18” off the floor.

Ridgerunner said:

I agree, it’s an interesting thread. There are some things in here that I’d never head of or considered before. The logic behind most of them makes sense. I wonder how much of this is more of a concern for birds raised for show that our normal backyard flocks. It’s not just that show birds are not allowed any imperfection but that they are going to be larger than our hatchery backyard flocks, both from genetics and diet. They may be more prone to this type of problem, heavier and more clumsy flying.

One reason I want mine roosting before they are laying is that chickens tend to sleep on the highest thing available once they start to roost. They often like a sheltered place to sleep if they don’t roost, often a corner of the coop. If your nests are the highest thing available or make a secure-looking place to spend the night you could wind up with poopy eggs. Showbirds are not normally bred to lay early. Six months may be typically before they start to lay. A lot of hatchery birds will be laying before that.

I also want my roosts high enough that the adults cannot peck the feet of chickens on the roosts. I’m almost constantly integrating, either broody-raised or brooder-raised chicks. When I go to the coop in the morning these immature birds are normally on the roosts out of easy reach of the adults walking the floor. I don’t know how people handle integration with birds raised for show. Probably all kinds of ways like everything else. The way I raise mine I would not be happy with roosts 18” off the floor.

Click to expand...

I love following your posts. You always have something thought provoking to say. I agree, that part of the push to get chicks roosting early may be to keep them from sleeping in the nest boxes. Also, those roosts need to be high enough so toes can't be reached from the floor, and FAR APART enough, that birds on one roost can't easily reach birds on an other roost. I think that most feather picking and aggression issues tend to happen on the roost. An other thought is that birds on a roost may be just a bit safer from small predator attacks in the coop. As far as the damaged keel goes, I'd always heard that meat birds should not be allowed to roost, while layers, being lighter weight should be fine to roost. My inclination is to encourage them to roost when weaned from Mama, or around 4 - 5 weeks. With my HP and broody raised chicks, they prefer to roost by that age, but... are not comfortable roosting with the big girls, so a bit of training is needed.