chick roosting

[chickenbythesea]

just wondering when chicks start to like to roost off the floor? ours are a week old and when we got them last week I thought they were dying every time they went to sleep hahaha... they just sorta went limp and drooped into sleep. Now, some are still sleeping the same way... but others are starting to fall asleep while standing... it almost looks like they have narcolepsy it's rather funny... one even walks up to the feeder like she's going to eat and falls asleep looking at the feeder. Anyways, when they start sleeping standing up, does that mean they want to roost? or is that just a peculiarity of my chicks? thanks for the help.. oh and yesterday was the first day in their coop and yes they have a heat lamp.

 

[taprock]

Some of mine have started roosting when they were just two weeks old. That's about when I give them something to roost on - just not very high.

 

[Judy]

You're describing typical chick behavior. They will be entertained by having a low roost -- or anything else to jump / play on. It's not necessary and they may not sleep on it for a while, but they will enjoy it.

 

[sky king]

When mine were 3weeks they started running around they coop an Cleo ing here wings so I thought they needed a roost so I put some old 1x1s that I had used in they coop build an self them on some 4x4 that I had left ove all at diff Hights an they loved it

 

[chickenbythesea]

thanks, I think I'll put something low to jump off of.. the one by one sounds good: we have left overs from the deck rail.. however, it is pressure treated... should I instead us something natural like a heavy stick?

 

[Ridgerunner]

As you can tell by this photo, I spent hours working out the design, took a lot of effort and many trips to the lumber yard to get just the right materials, then very carefully measured before I painstakingly assembled it.

I do recommend sanding to remove any splinters.

Editted to add: They perch and play on this during daytime but they sleep in a group on the brooder floor. My brooder raised chicks usually start sleeping on the roost around 10 to 12 weeks old, but different people report widely different starting ages. My broody raised chicks are usually roosting by 4 weeks.

 

[giefdog]

Someone told me that when they r 2-3 weeks old to put a 1x2 flat on a 2x4 to start, because when they get older if U plan to keep them through the winter they need a 2x4 flat to roost on to keep their feet from freezing and now after I put them in the coop all but 1 of the 20 birds sleep on the roost every nite