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That may end up happening. I have been trying to avoid putting a light in there just because last year when it got cold I put a heat lamp back in with our other flock (SS Hamburgs) and they opted to roost in trees rather than go back in there with a light. I thought it might be confusing for...

That's the weird thing. These pullets have spent all their lives in this coop. I put them in there when they were 3 days old and they have always lived there. All this started when we took the brooder light out of the coop when they were 8 weeks old. We've never actually let them roost in the...

Oh, something I forgot, it hailed yesterday with some sort of high winds, lightning and thunder too. That was a little bit earlier in the day, but it's a first for these girls. They've never experienced any kind of weather like that.

No, I don't think so, I can't think of anything that was different except I was a little bit later than normal to supervise their bedtime. Lol! We have a 2500 sf run that they run around in during the day right now. I haven't let them free range yet, but they have lots of room and trees that...

Going to have to do something, I think. I went out this evening to make sure they were going in the coop and they were all milling around and roosting in the trees, not even interested in going to bed in the coop. I got them in the coop, but it was fully dark by that time and they were...

We do have windows, but they're covered right now due to rainy, windy weather. They can't see anything outside, but it's possible they heard something moving around outside the run. I think you're right, these pullets go in a bit later than our other flock and it's a bit darker than is...

Well, chaos in the coop tonight. I went out there at about 8:00 P.M. to see who was on a roost and I heard lots of noise, loud noise. I thought maybe something had gotten into the coop, so I ran over there and yanked the door open. No predators, just pullets rebelling. Maybe 6 on the roosts...

Thanks! I never thought about putting them close together. We did give them play perches from the time they were about 2 weeks old. That's why I was surprised to see most of them still bunching in the corner. They used to climb all over the branches jumping over to the roosts and back. It...

The three "P's" and some assistance from nice people on BYC! Thanks very much for your help!

Thanks! It's a labor of love, for sure. :-)

Yes! Thanks, I will persevere! Lol! There were 15 on the roost tonight when I went out to check on them, I put 4 more on the roost with gentle persuasion and they all stayed!!! So happy for them, I think they're getting it!.

Twelve out of 27 on roosts tonight when I went out to check. That's a record! Lol! I spent a few minutes putting 6 more up there using the advice from this thread. A couple jumped down, but the other 4 stayed. Progress!

A training roost, I like it! Lol! I do think they'll eventually figure it out, it's just that some of them do roost and some don't, the ones who don't are getting pooped on. I'd like that to stop. :-)

When these pullets were just chicks we leaned some thick branches up against the roosts so they could make their way up. They loved them and would be up and down all day. It was fun to watch them learn to fly up on their own. That's why I'm so baffled by their behavior now. It seems like since...

Most of this flock are heavier breeds, so we put the roosts about 18 inches off the floor of the coop. It's weird, because the go in and out of the coop all day and I'll see them hanging out on the roosts during the day, but at night it's like they're programmed to pack into the corner. I'm...

Yes, I'm learning a lot about chickens. I love them already, but there is so much to learn about health, behaviors and habits.

That's the other thing, I didn't want a light in there, so I'm crawling around in the dark getting them by feel. You can only imagine how messy that was. Thanks for the suggestion of the red lamp. I'll do that!

Right! I feel like an idiot for thinking they would be calmer if they didn't feel trapped. I think they were panicking more because they could flap their wings.

No, I wasn't. I was letting them rest on my arm. They about beat my face off with their wings. Lol! Plus, I've got scratches all over my arm from their claws. Tonight I'll do that. I don't want to freak them out any more than they are already. We've blocked off the corner where they were...

Okay, another night of chicken silliness. It's weird because more of the girls started out on roosts tonight because I blocked their access to the corner (I'm guessing here), but when I went back out after dark to check on them, some of the ones that had been roosting were on the floor...