Buff Orp pile up (Pics)

[NJfarmer]

I have a decent size chicken coop and run with 10 nesting boxes and 9 chickens. when I got home from work I saw all 9 of my chickens pileing up in one nest box. They are laying on top of each other It is about 40 outside so its not that cold and it is prob. warmer inside the coop I never seen them do this before. Why do they all pile up in one spot??????

 

[Frozen Feathers]

They're having a secret meeting??

I don't know why they so that, but it's awfully cute.

 

[bamagirl68]

Mine do the same thing!I had about 7

in one nest box!

 

[Buster]

Do they have a roost?

 

[StellaLenoir]

so cute!!! they look guilty, like they are plotting something! A girls night out maybe. lol!!!

 

[Ma]

When my Buff girls were about the age of yours (judging from your pictures), they did the same thing. All 8 would try to go to roost in 1 nesting box, quite a sight. I just let them be. Eventually the pecking order would place everyone, but they still crowded together around the one box.

This behavior lasted about 2 months, then one day they simply started going to their regular roosts, and have done so ever since. This started when they really started maturing, and they started laying a few weeks later.

Love those Buff girls! I got my first egg Christmas Eve, it was -3 degrees and they were 24 weeks old! They lay regularly everyday now, right straight through the coldest temperatures of the year.

Your girls are beautiful and it looks like they have very nice digs!

 

[NJfarmer]

Quote:
no they dont have a roost. should i build one? It is gonna have to sit out side in the run if i do add it

 

[Buster]

If you add a roost, they would probably all sleep on it instead. My chickens found the roost the first night and line up on it like clock work at about 4:30- 5 every evening, just before the sun goes down and the lights go off.

 

[Henrietta23]

You haven't put up a billboard advertizing pot pies have you? They do look like they're organized a la "Chicken Run"!

 

[silkiechicken]

Yeah, you don't want them roosting in nest boxes as that leads to poopy eggs... literally.

A roost off the ground would be the best place for them to sleep. They may like one in the run, but if the nest boxes is where it is sheltered, they may continue to sleep in there. They really only need like 2 or 3 nest spots as they will share and fight over the favorite spot, so you could take out most of them and replace it with a roost bar instead.