Is it possible for a chicken to not like roosting?

[PhantomSlayer]

Our birds will be a year old this year and I have failed to get our runt Kiora to roost.

I don't know why but our light brahma as well wont roost but I think its because the runt doesn't roost.

I've only caught Kiora on a roost once during the day and twice as night but that was around summer last year and never since. After our nesting box where they used to sleep collapsed they started sleeping in the new ones which are made out of storage totes (Easier to clean thankfully). The brahma will roost during the day if their kept in their run. I even put a mini roost not even 6 inches off the ground and Kiora wouldn't stay on it. She'll stay for a few minutes if our brahma is up there but then gets down.

I just don't get them two. During the day Kiora will follow the brahma during free range and if Kiora falls behind I usually see the brahma come running back over to her and they head off together toward where the rest went or they'll stay around the porch eating treats. I figure part of the reason is the runt may be the bottom of the pecking order but the brahma isn't exactly the bottom. If I had to say shes probably in the middle. I've seen her peck a few aside from the runt.

Should I give up the battle to get Kiora roosting? Anyone else have a chicken that really doesn't want to roost no matter what? Should you cater to a chicken wanting to sleep in a hidey hole?

I adore Kiora probably cause shes struggled to much as a chick to survive. I'm happy to see her following the brahma when free ranging. She used to stay up by the porch all the time.

 

[RojoMarz]

How many chickens do you have? Only two will not roost? Can you attach pictures of your setup?

My hens are not allowed to sleep in the nest box. If they happen to be in there, when I do my evening check, I move them to the roost.

 

[MamaPoult]

Yes pics please! I dont let my girls sleep anywhere else because of our harsh winters that would freeze their feet if they dont perch. If mine refuse I put them up there every night until they get the point.

 

[K0k0shka]

More information and pictures would be helpful, like how many chickens total, size of coop, total roost length and height etc. If Kiora is at the bottom of the pecking order, the others may not be allowing her to roost with them. Or there might be something anatomically wrong with her that's making it hard for her to get up to a roost (or stay on it once there). If she's friends with the light Brahma, then the Brahma may be staying down just to be with her. Another thing to note is that the social order isn't linear, and it's not the same in all contexts. Different chickens have different priorities. A food-hogging chicken may appear more dominant when treats or food are involved, push others aside and dominate the feeder, but be more submissive in other contexts, like roosting. Or another chicken might have really strong opinions about where to sleep, and be pushier there and muscle others to get to her favorite spot, but defer to them at the feeder. My bottom hen defers in all contexts except for nesting boxes. She is an absolute jerk when it comes to laying, and if her favorite box is taken by another hen, or even by TWO other hens, she will peck and scream and squeeze herself in there and push them out! And for some reason they let her, even though they'll put her in her place at the feeder or the roosts. So, long story short, the light Brahma might appear middle of the pecking order when out and about, but the flock may have decided, for some reason, that they don't want her to sleep with them on the roost, and might have banished her to the nesting boxes with Kiora.

I agree with others that letting them sleep (and poop) in the nesting boxes is not a good idea. If they are safe and otherwise healthy and doing well, I wouldn't worry about where exactly they sleep, as long as it's in a locked coop and not in the nesting boxes.

 

[PhantomSlayer]

There;s two 5 ft branches we use for roosts one just over 2 1/2 feet high and the other is nearing 3 ft. 10 birds. 1 is a rooster. Most seem to go for the higher roost. Usually its the other australorps and buff orpington that take the lower if theres any issues with who gets where.. I would say about half of the nights i check in on them after their all roosting i only see 2-3 on the lower roost leaving about 3-4 feet of empty roost space.

We also have a board *it was meant to raise the nesting boxes but none of the birds wanted to get up to the height that I have sitting on the nesting boxes it fits snugly I've even tryied putting both on there and she wasn't having it.

I want to believe theres nothing wrong with Kiora but I can't really say for sure. I've seen her jump up on a 1 1/2 ft cooler to fly up to the railing of our porch before on her own. She seems to fly down from my arm okay if I hold her. She doesn't seen unstable when I do set her on the roosts either. She just wants down immediately.


Our first winter definitely showed me that we need to change things up. So my plan for the spring is reorganize the interior. I'm also hoping maybe it'll encourage Kiora to roost if their not so high and long. I'm think of ladder style maybe down to the floor and during warm months using dog crate trays with sand for easier/quicker cleaning.


@RojoMarz I tried moving her to the roosts but she kept getting down immediately. I wonder if she thinks she cannot be up there no matter what..


@K0k0shka When young I called her a statue chicken. When she was younger more often than not she would just stand there like she was hunkered down but still standing. We used to think she was blind. But now shes more get up and go. Theres only been one day where it was really cold and snowy where I found her out in part of our extended run doing the same thing. I brought her inside for a few hours to make sure she ate and drank but by feeding time for dinner she was back out and acting fine again.

Interesting that their driven by different things. The others definately show that behavior. She doesn't seem dominant in anyway. If I'm hand feeding her and another comes over she walks away. I've seen her sit and watch other hens in the nesting box. And caught her laying eggs in a spot next to where the others used to lay. She acts somewhat like an outcast if I had to say. I have a feeling if it weren't for the brahma she would probably not follow the flock at all.

The nesting box sleeping is why I went with a easier to move nesting box aka storage bins. It's soo much easier to dump out and refill to keep clean since they won't stop.



For now I think I'll let them keep one of the nesting boxes to sleep in. Were not getting enough eggs right now anyways to need it. Once spring comes I'll see if reorganizing things does anything to help with her not roosting.