How do you teach chicks to roost?

[1zooman12]

Just a hint folks about chickens returning to their appointed coops at dusk and learning to roost as well. I'm currently free ranging 3 different age levels of birds, the oldest of which have been laying eggs for about 12 weeks. I spend too much time with them during the day when they are free ranging. Some of the older chickens will come and talk while I sit amongst them comfortably in my plastic lawn chair. A few of the hens will fly up to sit on my lap; one even likes to sit on my shoulder. I have very little conflict among and between the 3 separate flocks. Each tends to stay with their own group. I notice however that as they age the younger ones will spend more and more time with the older sub-flock. In time I can see them merging as their sizes and maturity become more equalized. Each group of the same age were started out in an assigned coop. There I keep them for a week to 10 days during which time they habituate while strictly closed up in their home coop. Then one morning I simply open the door and they begin to free range. At dusk they assemble at their habituated coop without any trouble at all. By this time each sub-flock knows its coop. This they are good at if properly habituated; it takes a bit of patience and time however. One evening I came home unavoidably after dark; it had been dark for about 90 minutes. To my surprise and joy each group was piled together at their respective doors. I was also grateful that the coyotes had not yet made their evening rounds. Same for the resident red foxes. My biggest problem is getting them from ceasing their baby habit of forming night piles (coveys) and going to roost on the perches instead. If a group is raised with perches in their coop they will use them when they become teenagers i.e.. more mature with wing feathers. If you wait too long to install the perches then they don't recognize them as night roosts and it takes a longer time to get them to use them. I find myself going out at night to actually place a few individual chickens on the perches. The trick is to keep them calm during this as a few have a loud fit which unsettles those on the floor and those already placed on the perches. I hold them so that they cannot flap their wings and (don't laugh), arrange their feet on the perch and maintain the grip loosening it slowly whilst I whisper at their heads to be calm, "This is your daddy…". Sounds nutsy but it works with time and patience. I'm spared the ridicule which might ensue if the neighbors could see this phase; thank goodness it takes place in the pitch black of night. It's bad enough that they can plainly see the chicken nut with some of his hens mutually chatting in his lap in the day time. Stay well, all!

 

[Chquinta]

My chicks our 4 months and only 2 of the 5 use the ladder and go roost. Usually the other 3 sometimes 4 will be huddled on the floor. Is 4 months a little big to not know how to use ladder or roost?

 

[Chelsa'sChicks]

I have 3 Pullets and 1 Cockerel that I purchased all at once. They are Australorps. They have been in the barn box (as I call it) its a giant box with chicken wire 100% fenced and safe - all 1 floor. They were in the barn box for about 2 months because they are just NOW half the size of my other hens. My young ones now do not roost. I have just let them out 5 days ago to play and explore the entire barn. Mind you all chickens are free range young and older. The young chickens have not yet left the barn and always within sight of the barn box. Obviously this is viewed as home. I want to encourage them to roost. I have left them out until I'm back from work (late), and they are always snuggled together up agianst the barn box. If I am home I will put them in the box before night because they see me and literally come running up to me, all 4 of them in a huddled bunch running together and stand at my feet. They do not mind being handled at all (obviously played way too much with them as chicks lol..). So every night I have placed them back in the barn box only for night hours. How do I get them to roost?! They will be 4 months old at the end of this month.. If they continue to lay on the ground they WILL get eaten eventually. I always make my 4 dogs potty around the barn to deter animals of prey which worked really well btw. I have put the young chickens up on stuff and all 4 will be on something (hay bale, latter, etc) and they all jump down to sleep on the ground. I have watched them and only the young cockerel at night/dusk hours looks up at surrounding objects like he knows he should be up there, but he doesn't always jump up and try to get on stuff.. just stares up at it. The young pullets follow him everywhere but are tiny compared to him and cant flutter up enough sometimes. Is there something I can do more of to encourage roosting?!

 

[azygous]

Place the chicks on the perch as close together as you can fit them. In turn, place your hands on their heads, exerting a slight downward pressure so their heads are parallel with the perch. This calms and quiets them and triggers the desire to sleep.

Keep this up until all chicks are quiet and still, about a minute. They will then remain on the perch and quickly fall asleep.

 

[Chelsa'sChicks]

I am going to try this! I will have a friend help .. 4 birds only 2 hands ha. They are such sweet birds I don't want something to happen to them. Thank you for you help!!

 

[chickengeorgeto]

My chicks have been in there coop for 2 days now. I have roosts in the coop but they don't seem to sleep on them. I put them up on there a couple times and they stayed there for 10 minutes or so. Then others would jump on. But they don't stay on them for very long and they don't sleep on them over night. How can I teach them to roost? They are only a month old. Should I just keep putting them on the roosts every night or let them figure it out themselves?

4 weeks is a little young to go to the roost without a mother hen to encourage them and provide an example.

 

[Ridgerunner]

At almost four months old they should be showing interest in roosting by now, but each brood is different. My brooder raised chicks normally show interest in roosting somewhere around 10 to 12 weeks. Some can be later but you want them roosting before they start to lay. That can help keep them from sleeping in the nest though that doesn't sound like it will be a problem in your barn. It's nice to have lots of room.

Where do you want them to roost? If it is with the older chickens that's not likely to happen until later. Even if you have an unbelievable amount of roost space the mature chickens are often pretty brutal to younger birds on the roosts so they tend to find another place to sleep. It's when they finally mature into adults that they really become one flock.

As long as it is not with the adults, the only thing I'll mention is that it needs to be really dark in there when you move them up to the roosts to train them. Otherwise they tend to hop back down if they can see what they are doing.

 

[Chelsa'sChicks]

No they don't need to be roosting with the older hens and roo, but they have the entire barn. I'm also forcing them to use their wings.. they are still unsure of alot. They see me walk in and they all run up to me all together as a group lol its funny, but time to cut the cord guys. When I say force them to use their wings I just stand them on the edge of the barn box and they jump when they're ready. They are not trying too much to flutter up onto stuff to roost on.. so I'm encouraging wing usage.

 

[HattieScratchy]

Some of my 7 month olds still sleep in the nesting box (4 of them, plus 1 of the 3 month olds) . To be honest, I don't care where they "roost" as long as they are in the coop.

 

[Chelsa'sChicks]

I don't have a coop. The barn is basically a giant coop, so I prefer them to roost. Predators have in the past come into the barn and took a duck or hen, but it's not happened for almost a year now because I make my dogs patrol outside and potty around the barn now. I don't care where in the barn they roost, but the little stinkers are still jumping down onto the ground even when I put them put on something.. and yes it was pitch black when I did this i used a small flashlight so I could see. Left wuth them up there and an hour later they were snuggled on the ground. They have not even left the barn yet, so I think they are still too young to be very brave. I open the door and call them out, but they just play in the barn where the sun comes in the door. My older hens and roo don't care at all about them either which is good cause the hens have been together for about 3-5 years ave.