nighttime chicken behavior

[still learning]

My flock of layers (17--no roos that I can tell, anyway) have a brand new coop with all the recommended suggestions here (well ventilated from the top, sq. footage is over 4 sq. ft per bird etc) , and a large run, and we are in a rural area with few predator problems. I raised them from the first day, and they are beautiful and healthy, and about 12 weeks old. We kept them in the coop for the first two weeks after they left the brooder so they'd know where "home" is. At first they were doing their thing and climbing the little chicken ladder at night. Then one night, one of them got the idea to roost on the porch step. Its all over now. Now *all* of them roost in a big ball on the porch step, and every night my son goes out there and picks them up, one by one, and puts them back into the coop and closes the door.

The weather here has ranged from mid eighties to maybe 65 degrees on the coolest nights?

Why don't they line up and roost on their roosts in the coop? I do see them on the roosts occasionally, but I've never seen them all line up like all the books talk about. Will they change their mind when the weather gets cold and head indoors for the night, or are we going to have to find a way to re-train them? We were thinking about setting some wood on the steps that would make it impossible for them to roost on, in hopes that they will head inside, but now I'm wondering if they'll decide to ball up *under* the coop instead of *in* the coop.

 

[faykokoWV]

I had to put a night light in my coop. Once I did that they all went in just fine. I bought a little solar powered landscape light with a panel that goes outside the coop. Works great and lets me check on them easily after dark

 

[twade]

I have three month old chicks and they all go in the coop fine but they all pile on top of each other in the window sill. I have roosts for them but they never use it, it's always the window sill. Sometimes they are all climbing all over one another and they almost fall off! I might make a taller roost and see if this changes. Maybe they are still piling because they are not old enough? I don't know I am new at all of this. Good luck getting yours inside!

 

[chseeads]

They generally get better the older they get, to where they start wanting to roost on roosts instead of sit around in piles.

You can try sitting them directly on the roost at night too...sometimes that helps them get the idea.

 

[Norton]

Mine also piled up on the coop floor and windows when they where young. But they all prefer to roost on their pole as they matured.

 

[beginnerchick08]

I had the same problem one started roosting on top of the cage outside and next thing you know 6 of them are and every night I have to push them off and put them up. I wouldnt care but they are about to start laying and i dont want to have to hunt for my first eggs i want them to get use to laying in the coop.

 

[AnnesChicks]

when mine were about three months old I started going out to the coop after dark and putting one or two on the roost. For the next month or two all eight sqeezed onto the same roost, very cute. (see the pic on my BYC page)

Now they have spread out a bit and are using both roosts, plus of course it is summer and warm.

 

[still learning]

Well, its encouraging to hear that the pile up may just be a young chicken behavior. We haven't run power to the coop yet...will do so before the weather gets cold, but for right now, no lightbulb. I guess we'll try putting stuff on the step to keep them from roosting there and see what happens???

 

[flopshot]

i built a little roost for the brooder which they took to right away. when i moved them to the coop i put some branches on the floor. they were on the 'big girl' roost as soon as they figured out the steps to get to it and never looked back.

 

[Claire65]

all these years later ...

we have 12 pullets, 2 cockerels. We have a baby cam in the coop and a night light and the first week they did great. The night light is a rechargeable LED non-heat emitting light. There is a heater in there for sub freezing but we've used it twice secondary to weather. We put the lightbulb in the coop to lead them in (it's like their safety blanket) and leave it there. The light goes dim, then out in a few hours.

Okay so now at exactly 3 months old, they are now wandering the coop like it's party time still five hours after bedtime. These are Barred Rock chickens and they are not 'acting' cold. Just wandering around. No distressing calls. It's ventilated well. So are these just pollos locos?