Barred Rocks in Washington State

[BarredRockChic]

Hello all! I have been browsing your site for months before I decided to purchase three Barred Rock chicks back in April! They have been such a delight to raise and watch them grow into young adulthood. I converted an old rabbit hutch into a coop and the girls are loving it. They are now 17 weeks old and I have noticed since I moved them out of the brooder into their coop that they tend to stay on the roosts until almost 9am! I thought chickens were up at the crack of dawn ready to start the day, but these girls prefer to sleep late! Is this anything to be concerned with?

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

Aww! Your chickens are cute! Barred rocks are a great breed.

There are many things each of us took for granted with chickens. I thought they always laid in the morning but I was also wrong!

The one thing that concerns me is that your hutch is not sturdy or warm. Does it get cold there? Do you have many predators? Those are the things you should consider.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/atype/1/Learning_Center
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/chicken-predators-pests-how-to-protect-treat-your-flock

Good luck with your flock and welcome to ours!

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

How recently have you moved them into the coop from the brooder? It takes birds time to feel safe enough to venture out from the coop. So if this was a very recent move, they may not come out right away.

Next, if there are things outside that scare them, they will not want to come out quickly either. Chickens should be up at the crack of dawn. They should be hungry and thirsty and if they are still on at 9am, something is going on.

That roost bar is very high. Do you have any vents in the roof or ceiling? Chickens need a lot of air and can have issues with not enough of it. low ceilings and such. I would lower that bar so that they have head room and if you don't have any vents in the top or eaves, you need to cut some in.

Good luck with your babies! They are are cute up there.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! How much natural light gets in your coop? If the coop is dark in the morning, in the deep shade etc they may not be getting up because of that.

 

[dawg53]

Welcome to BYC.

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC! Glad you decided to join our flock. You have been given some good advice and links from Mountain Peeps and TwoCrows. Please feel free to ask any other questions you may have. We are here to help in any way we can. Good luck with your flock.

 

[drumstick diva]

Maybe they just like to sleep in.

 

[BarredRockChic]

Thank you all for your advice! I have since made modifications to the top roost bar and that seems to have made them happier. They were up and out of the coop much earlier today, 7am. I will be winterizing the coop in the next month as colder weather sets in but right now daytime temperatures are in the high 70's and low 80's with nighttime temperatures not dipping below 65. I will see about putting a vent toward the roof, currently there is wire mesh on the sides toward the front of the coop that allows a cross-breeze into the coop.

 

[BantamLover21]

Glad you joined us!

Feel free to ask lots of questions! We're all here to help.

 

[Wyandottes7]

Welcome to BYC!

We're glad to have you.