All Piled Up

[stokesdalefunnyfarm]

I have 10 hens and 1 rooster in a 8x8 coop and every night they all pile up on top of each other in one corner of the coop at a window. I think this is odd with all of the room that they're given as well as roost that they can sleep on. Is this odd or regular chicken behavior?

Thanks!!

 

[blueberrychickens]

How old are they & how long have they been in the coop? How high is their roost? Maybe just put them up there after dark so they wake up on the roost in the am & they'll figure it out eventually.....then again, if they are silkies, I believe they prefer to sleep on the floor.

 

[stokesdalefunnyfarm]

They're 5 months old, a mixtures of Rocks, Golden Comets and Brahmas. They've been in the coop since June. The roost is about mid way up, which the coop is about 4 ft tall. They usually spend time on the roost during the day, but have always slept at that window on top of each other. It doesn't look comfortable, especially for the birds on the bottom!

 

[Alethea]

Ours pile up, too. I think it gives them comfort and possibly protection, but I don't have a chicken mind and can't say I really know. They do use the perch at night, though. Even then, they are all at one end, with one of them squished between the others and the wall. When they nap during the day, they pile up in a corner of the coop or somewhere in their yard. Bok.