Advice please on roosting

[Bekazee]

So I have a coop in a run with 4 Isa Browns aged a little over a year old. I recently got 4 Rhode Island Red chicks and brooded them inside. A few weeks ago (after all their feathers were in) I incorporated them outside with the big girls. The littles are about 3 months old. The littles are avoidant of the bigs and the bigs don’t hurt them but act like high schooler around middle schoolers. During the day I open the run and the bigs free range and the littles stay in the run. (The gate is open but I am not allowing the littles to free range yet until they know all the rules.)

So here’s my problem. They are all sleeping in the coop but the big won’t let the littles roost. There’s 2 bars. Enough room for 4 and 4 but the bigs do 3 and 1 or 2 and 2 on the bars. (I used to have 6 in there so I know they can do 4 birds to a bar). The bigs make the littles sleep in the nesting box then kick them out the nesting box in the morning when they want to lay. The bigs basically act like the littles don’t exist. And if contact is made it’s a “move outta my way” attitude.

What can I do to get everyone on the roosts?

 

[TwoShepherds]

Whenever I integrate younger birds in with the older flock, I find I have to go in each evening for a couple of nights, pick up the younger birds, and put them on the roost by hand.

 

[SueT]

Roosting time is often a challenge. If you can add another roost you might want to try that, although the bigs may just spread out and take that too. I have improvised roost dividers and that solved the problem for me. If I find my photos, I’ll post a bit later.

 

[rosemarythyme]

How close together are the 2 roosts? Photos can help.

 

[Tonyroo]

I have a pullet that I always have to place her on the roost in the evening cause her parents harass her for being on there roost.

So lately I been shooing them away from her with my hand. And if her mom decides to peck at her, I use my index finger and poke her wing to get her to stop and calm down. Then everyone is fine for the night.

 

[Bekazee]

Here’s some photos of the space they have and you can see the little snuggled together in the nesting box in one of the photos.

 

[Bekazee]

Here’s some photos of the space they have and you can see the little snuggled together in the nesting box in one of the photos. View attachment 2844231View attachment 2844232View attachment 2844228

 

[rosemarythyme]

Here’s some photos of the space they have and you can see the little snuggled together in the nesting box in one of the photos.

Is there any way to move the roosts further apart (my guess is no, since at least roost in photo 1 roost is already about as close as I'd want to get to the wall)? My guess is because the roosts are close enough for the bigger ones to reach over to peck the younger ones on the other roost, they're forcing them off that way so they can hog the roosts for themselves.

Maybe try laddering the bars temporarily until the younger girls are old enough to lay and fully join the flock (just to increase the distance between the two roosts)? It would also have the side effect of encouraging the older ones to sit on the same roost, because they'll naturally want to be higher up.

As an example you can see how far apart my roosts are, so the adults can't easily peck at the chicks on the lower roost.

 

[3KillerBs]

How big is your coop?

8 hens should have at least 32 square feet and at least 8 feet of roost.

 

[aart]

How big is your coop?

Ditto Dat!

Feet by feet dimensions and pics from the outside would help immensely here.