7wk old chicks won't roost!! What do I do?

[callahanfarmgirl]

I am a new chicken lover and had a very lucky hatch rate out of incubator - 37 out of 40. Now they are 7wks old and have been in the big coop for about 10 days and they will not roost.
For the 1st 3 nights I would go out there and place them up there but of course 3 or 4 would end up on the ground. I have tried crumbles and treats to get them up there with no success.
But during the day they walk up & down the roost all day? What can I do to get them off the ground at night?

 

[aggie9296]

Give them more time. My 5 month old Red Stars still only intermittently roost.

 

[callahanfarmgirl]

OK I just worry about snakes.

 

[azygous]

This is simple. At night, at roosting time, just as it's getting too dim for them to see well, place the tykes up on the perch. They should stay there since they can't see well enough to want to hop off.

For the next few nights, simply repeat the process. It shouldn't take but a couple nights and they'll learn to hop up there on their own since they will have learned that's where they want to be at night.