9 week olds are not roosting, why?

[QuiltinChick]

We have approx. 60 Barred Rocks that are 9 weeks old. We are trying to figure out why they are not all roosting. I would guess that only about 15 of them are roosting.

Does this mean we don't have the roosts set up correctly? Can the roosts be at the same height or do they need to be stair stepped to accomodate the pecking order?

Any suggestions? They seem to pile up on floor right inside the human door and we can hardly get in the coop once they are in for the night.

Help, please!!!

 

[kmatt87]

i'm not sure, but i know only a few of mine were roosting in the brooder. Its the first night they're in the coop so we'll see what happens tonight.

 

[damselfish]

Sounds pretty normal, some are slower to roost than others. If it's a problem for you, go in at night, pick them up and set them on the roost. They will get the idea (but they will get the idea eventually anyway). Our ten new ones, about the same age as yours, are not roosting yet.

In our case that's partly intimidation since they have our big girls to contend with. We will let them stay down until they are ready to make their way into the pecking order.

One level or many doesn't matter...they will still roost just fine, and establish a pecking order. Good luck, chickens tend to work things out amongst themselves, not always on a human schedule.

 

[QuiltinChick]

Sounds pretty normal, some are slower to roost than others. If it's a problem for you, go in at night, pick them up and set them on the roost. They will get the idea (but they will get the idea eventually anyway). Our ten new ones, about the same age as yours, are not roosting yet.

In our case that's partly intimidation since they have our big girls to contend with. We will let them stay down until they are ready to make their way into the pecking order.

One level or many doesn't matter...they will still roost just fine, and establish a pecking order. Good luck, chickens tend to work things out amongst themselves, not always on a human schedule.

THANKS for the quick responses. We just needed a little reassurance that there isn't something else that we should be doing. Just want to make sure all of our girls are happy and healthy!!!

THANKS again!!!