A chicken perch W/O the chicken?

Schwartzfarmnc

Songster
9 Years
May 28, 2010
678
13
121
West Jefferson
I was hoping someone with more experience can answer why out of 16 girls, 1 Deleware pullet will not perch with the other girls at night, but she sleeps right below her sister on the poop board??? She is pretty good girl, nothing is wrong otherwise, but if you put her up on the perch or even a lower perch she persist to stay underneath the other birds at night, has anyone else had the same experience?
 
Chickens are funny creatures....They pick a spot and then that becomes their favorite place to roost. She may be low on the pecking order, and so she might have been bullied off the roost and that is the spot she chose.....

I have some that sleep on the roosts, and certain hens like to be near eachother....It's cute, really.....

A few like to sleep higher up, on the roof of the nesting boxes. (Good thing they can't poop into the nests.....hubby fixed that for me.)
 
I have a Production Red that won't have anything to do with my younger Wynadottes, but at night she sleeps with them instead of with the rest of the flock. And those four sleep in the corner on the floor. Never on the very spacious perches we built.
 
I have a black australorp that had to be introduced to roosting by picking her up off the floor and placing on a lower roost. She is content to stay there even though she is on top of the pecking order.
 
This bird is not top bird, but is not bottom bird either. She's pretty fiesty and let's everyone know it, but I've tried to relocate her to another perch and even moved a bird for her to perch beside her sister, but that did not work either. I don't have a problem letting her sleep on the poop board, but then I don't want all the other birds to "drop their goodies" on her either. Any suggestions would be great.
 
I also have a Delaware that will not roost with the others, roosts lower down. I have assumed it is because the roosts are fairly high and she is a heavier bird....perhaps the morning landings were getting hard on her legs. The other birds in her pen are lighter weight breeds/individuals and love the higher perch.

She may have a habit now that will be hard to break. You can only make her current roost less attractive, but what is less attractive than being pooped on all night?
 
Quote:
I agree, you'd think that could be the best motivator but so far I don't find any evidence of poo on her, but we do take her in the house every morning and feed her a little extra, she seems a little thin but she eats with all the other birds and most of the time she runs the others off but does like the extra attention. Hopefully in time she'll upgrade to the perch we worked so hard on
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