3-yo hen quit roosting

[ChickenMamaC]

I have A 3-yo light Brahma who just quit roosting at night. She wants to sleep on the coop floor. At first, I picked her up and put her on the roost, but she clearly does not want to go up.
I treated her recently for scaly leg mites— could her feet still be uncomfortable? She is otherwise eating, drinking, laying normally.

 

[Buffy Brahma Mama]

Hello! I was going to suggest mites. Is the coop currently 100% (or so) clear of them? Check for red mites, as it is a terrible year for them. The best time to inspect is between 10 and midnight. I feel like it takes a hen a relatively long period of time to recover if the infestation was bad. She may still be anemic.

Best wishes!

 

[aart]

I have A 3-yo light Brahma who just quit roosting at night. She wants to sleep on the coop floor. At first, I picked her up and put her on the roost, but she clearly does not want to go up.
I treated her recently for scaly leg mites— could her feet still be uncomfortable? She is otherwise eating, drinking, laying normally.

Did this start right after the SLM treatment?
What treatment did you use?
Any bullying going on during roosting time?
Pics of your roosts might offer a clue.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

How high is the roost?

 

[ChickenMamaC]

Hello! I was going to suggest mites. Is the coop currently 100% (or so) clear of them? Check for red mites, as it is a terrible year for them. The best time to inspect is between 10 and midnight. I feel like it takes a hen a relatively long period of time to recover if the infestation was bad. She may still be anemic.

Best wishes!

Well, I used Elector PSP on all of them and the coop. No one else is showing any signs of mites. I also treated her feet separately.

 

[ChickenMamaC]

Did this start right after the SLM treatment?
What treatment did you use?
Any bullying going on during roosting time?
Pics of your roosts might offer a clue.

No, it started before the treatment. Treated her legs a week ago, not sure how long it takes to heal?

 

[ChickenMamaC]

How high is the roost?

The lower roost is only about 16” from the coop floor, and the higher one is about two feet.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Well that isn't the problem. Is she limping at all?

 

[ChickenMamaC]

Well that isn't the problem. Is she limping at all?

No, and no sign of bumble. She had a tiny pebble stuck between toes which we removed— thought that was the problem but she still won’t go up.

 

[Justicedog]

My biggest girl, a RIR, cannot get up to the roost without the ladder that's attached to the side of the coop. I'd cleaned the coop yesterday and forgot to put the ladder down (it's on hinges) so when I went to close up, she was wandering around the floor until I realized my mistake and put the ladder back down and she went right up. She is also horribly ungraceful getting off the roost.

So, that makes my first thought to check if is she having trouble getting up or down from the roost.