12-week old hens don't roost.

[Texasmedic]

Should I be worried that my 12-week old hens don't sleep on their roost bar at night? They all huddle up in one corner of the coop and sleep in a bunch. I don't really care if they do or not, except that my poop tray design is worthless without it. I just didn't know if there was a trick to getting them to roost.

 

[sophiaw00]

Mine started roosting at 6 weeks. I would just put them up there once it starts getting dark and they probably won't want to jump down. They might be scared to jump up on them if they are really high. Maybe out one down low and see if they like it?

 

[clickdb]

I basically have 3 batches of chicks that are different ages. The oldest are now about 15 weeks, and only started roosting in the last two weeks. The next oldest are 12 weeks, and they started roosting at about 8 weeks old.
My youngest batch, 6 weeks old, started roosting before 5 weeks old. As soon as I put them in the main coop, I found them lined up on the bar the first night. These chicks also had a roosting toy I made them in their brooder, something the older ones didn't have at first.
So they roost when they feel like it, if you want to encourage the behavior, wait until they are settling in for the night and put them up on the bar. (That's what I did with my oldest chicks, otherwise they'd probably still be sleeping in a pile on the floor) Might take a few days of doing it before they stop jumping down as soon as you let them go, so just be persistent!

 

[Ridgerunner]

My brooder raised chicks normally start roosting at about 10 to 12 weeks when they are on their own. I’ve had some start at 5 weeks. I’ve had some start a lot later than 12 weeks. There are no rules and they do not follow a calendar. Each group is unique. It is not unusual at all for chicks to not be roosting at 12 weeks, though hopefully it will be soon.

If you have Silkies you have a unique case because they cannot fly. Some Silkies will climb a ramp or hop up a ladder but many are very content to sleep on the floor.

I don’t know what your roosts look like. I use a 2x4 narrow side up in my grow-out coop and tree branches in the main coop. Some people are very happy with a 2x4 wide side up. They all work. Do they have enough clear room to get up and down? When they fly up or fly down, they spread their wings so they need to have enough room to spread their wings. When they come down, do they have a clear landing area? A cluttered coop might cause some problems though most manage even then. A 12 week old regular (non-Silkie) chick can fly surprisingly high and should have no problems flying down from a pretty great height as long as it has room to maneuver. I’ve had a broody hen take her two week old chicks to a 5’ high roost. They got up and down without problems though they used an intermediate step (top of my nests) on the way up. Those nest were about 3 feet horizontal away from the roosts. It was clear watching them fly up they could have gone a lot further.

If you want to teach them to roost, do as clickdb mentioned. After dark and with the coop too dark for them to see to get around start putting some on the roosts. If there is enough light they may hop down. You don’t have to do them all. If one starts roosting the rest normally follow pretty quickly.

Don’t rip out your droppings board or roosts just yet. Be patient. What you are seeing is not unusual. They should start roosting on their own pretty soon, but a little help does not hurt anything.

 

[Chaos18]

Not sure of your setup but you might also try giving them a ramp to walk up to the roost. Mine have been using a roost since they were about 4-5 weeks old. I started them out on a short (height wise) one and then made one higher off the ground (in there brooder) but I also gave them a ramp to walk up and down if they wanted to. Now they are in the 12-13 week old range and use the roost in the big coop with no ramp.

 

[Sabz]

Which breed?

Could be a stupid question but if they have some cornish in them, maybe that's why. My cornish cross sleep 50-50. Half on the floor, half on the perches.

 

[Texasmedic]

2 Barred Rocks, 2 Rhode Island Reds and 2 Silver Wyandottes.

I'm not going to worry about it. They can sleep where they want, if they decide they want to roost on the bar then they can go for it. I'm just ready for them to start laying eggs.

 

[rides2far]

Mine didn't roost at that age either. Eventually one or two figured it out, then eventually all 14 were on the roost. They'll figure it out.

 

[tj74roberts]

Perhaps its too tall. Just a thought

 

[Crystaluna13]

How tall is too tall?