At what time did your chickens get up and go to roost today ?

[NorthwoodsChick]

The old coop-My oldest girls go in to eat 10 min after sunset but the rooster hangs around outside for another 5 min- always. Once he goes in the hens go to roost.

The young coop- 8 months old mill around in the run until it’s nearly dark. The rooster in that flock is first to go in to roost. He starts crowing at 5am but they stay on the roost until dawn.

 

[ManueB]

Might I suggest instead of "dawn" and "night",
you give sunrise and sunset?

I hesitated a bit about what time to note. I don't alway see clearly the sun setting, especially when it's cloudy, and because of the mountains it can vary in opposite ways as the day's length. Sunrise is easier, but I think that impacts the moment the chickens start to free range, not so much the time they get out of the coop.

I was thinking of the koran verse about being able to distinguish the white thread from the black one to break fast !

One thing I have noticed over the years, all of the chickens a year and older are heading to the coop before the sun sets, so dusk is coming, but it's a ways off yet.

The ones younger, around 3-6 months, stay out about a half an hour longer before heading to their temp coop.

The littlest ones about 2 months old are still out in their pen when it's nearly dark. They have a 4-month-old blind pullet with them that even somehow knows it's time for bed and heads in their hutch about half an hour before those little squirts decide to call it a night.

Sort of like humans.

Age is almost always a factor. But apart from a senior bantam and a three years old rooster my chickens are all under 30 months and they still go to sleep very early.

Nice to see a few answers. They are a bit more diverse than I expected!

 

[ManueB]

Time the chickens came out of the coop : 6.40
Time the first chicken went to roost : 4 pm
Time the last chicken went to roost : 4.45pm but then they all came down again and the roosters had a fight. They were really roosted at 5.15.
Sunrise : 8 am
Sunset : 4pm
Night : 5.30 pm
Morning temperature : 6c
Evening temperature: 12c
Weather : sunny and warm.

 

[ManueB]

Time the chickens came out of the coop : 6.30 (an early outdoor layer was screaming to be let out since 6)
Time the first chicken went to roost : 4.15 pm
Time the last chicken went to roost : 5 pm
Sunrise : 8 am
Sunset : 4 pm
Night : 5.30 pm
Morning temperature : 4c
Evening temperature: 12c
Weather : beautiful, sunny and warm.

 

[ManueB]

Yesterday, Tuesday 12 :

Time the chickens came out of the coop : 6.40
Time the first chicken went to roost : 3.50 pm
Time the last chicken went to roost : 4.20 pm
Sunrise : 8 am
Sunset : 4pm
Night : 5.30 pm
Morning temperature : 3c
Evening temperature: 6c
Weather : cold and rainy.

Today :
First frost of the year
Time the chickens came out of the coop : 6.50
Time the first chicken went to roost : 3.50 pm
Time the last chicken went to roost : 4.15 pm
Sunrise : 8 am
Sunset : 4pm
Night : 5.25 pm
Morning temperature : 0c
Evening temperature: 5c
Weather : sunny but cold.

 

[Abby3465]

My hens wake when they hear me in their run, cleaning and filling water/feed buckets. Usually just before dawn. Which for us, in Florida, is currently around 6 a.m.
They all make their way to roost before just before dusk. Usually around 5:30 p.m.

 

[BDutch]

And it needs to be daylight, before they come off the rooster.

can’t imagine they sleep on your rooster.

 

[BDutch]

I hear my cockerel almost every morning now at 7.15 -7.20 am when its getting light. I suppose the hens are awake or will be because of the noise.

The auto pop doors open about 5 - 10 minutes before sunrise when its already light. And closes 15 - 20 minutes after sunset, when its dark to be sure no one is locked out.

	Sunrise Am	Sunset 4.47 Pm
Today	07:56	16:47	Day lenght 8.5 hours

They start to roost around 4.30 pm.
It’s getting dark around 5 pm.

 

[ManueB]

My hens wake when they hear me in their run, cleaning and filling water/feed buckets. Usually just before dawn. Which for us, in Florida, is currently around 6 a.m.
They all make their way to roost before just before dusk. Usually around 5:30 p.m.

I think the weather makes a difference ; I suppose your winters are milder than that of many chicken keepers. It makes them a long day compared to mine !

I hear my cockerel almost every morning now at 7.15 -7.20 am when its getting light. I suppose the hens are awake or will be because of the noise.

The auto pop doors open about 5 - 10 minutes before sunrise when its already light. And closes 15 - 20 minutes after sunset, when its dark to be sure no one is locked out.

	Sunrise Am	Sunset 4.47 Pm
Today	07:56	16:47	Day lenght 8.5 hours

They start to roost around 4.30 pm.
It’s getting dark around 5 pm.

My guess is that soon your chickens will be going to roost at the same time as mine because of the days getting shorter more quickly where you live.

Cold is beginning to make a difference here. When the sun sets behind the mountain at 4.20 it suddenly feels quite cold. So I don't find it so strange that my chickens go to bed really early now as I did when the weather was still very nice. I'm just hoping they won't make that earlier still than 4.

 

[Mrs. K]

Roost…NOT rooster!