chicken doesn't sit on perch at night

[Rushdoggie]

Hello, chicken newbie.

I have 3 girls in a small but plenty big enough for 3 coop attached to a run coop (Buff Orpington, Australorpe, Americauna/Easter Egger). They are about 18 weeks old.

All 3 return to the coop from the run or the chicken yard at dusk and get on the same side, but my Buff doesn't roost on a roost. She sleeps on the floor of the coop in a corner right next to the other 2 girls.

There's plenty of space on the roost for all 3, she just seems to choose to curl up in the corner. I don't care too much except shes sitting in the poop. I just switched from having shavings under that roost with a poop board to having a tray with PDZ (which scoops like a litter box really easily) and shes still getting down in the box and fluffing up to sleep.

Halp?

 

[jonezjollyfarm]

Try moving her after dark. They cant see to move around them. I have a few young ones that like to do that. I'd rather them be on the poop deck than pooping up my nesting boxes lol. The other girls might be being a little caddy towards her which is making her less confident and not wanting to be up there.

 

[FT Chickens]

Hello, chicken newbie.

I have 3 girls in a small but plenty big enough for 3 coop attached to a run coop (Buff Orpington, Australorpe, Americauna/Easter Egger). They are about 18 weeks old.

All 3 return to the coop from the run or the chicken yard at dusk and get on the same side, but my Buff doesn't roost on a roost. She sleeps on the floor of the coop in a corner right next to the other 2 girls.

There's plenty of space on the roost for all 3, she just seems to choose to curl up in the corner. I don't care too much except shes sitting in the poop. I just switched from having shavings under that roost with a poop board to having a tray with PDZ (which scoops like a litter box really easily) and shes still getting down in the box and fluffing up to sleep.

Halp?

I have a buff that does the same thing

 

[jonezjollyfarm]

I think buff are always mentally broody. Thus they want to sleep on the bedding. Lol just a theory.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

She may be bottom hen. Multiple roosts are usually needed so the submissive can get away from the dominant. Smaller coops are often too small to be mentally big enough to allow for the rules of the pecking order. In other words, they can't get far enough away from each other which seems to be 5-10 feet.

Pictures of your set up may help people to see what you have going on.

 

[Rushdoggie]

She may be bottom hen. Multiple roosts are usually needed so the submissive can get away from the dominant. Smaller coops are often too small to be mentally big enough to allow for the rules of the pecking order. In other words, they can't get far enough away from each other which seems to be 5-10 feet.

Pictures of your set up may help people to see what you have going on.

I will take one tomorrow...but there are other roosts that no one sleeps on. They are 2 feet away and 4 feet away. She is also close to the other birds, just on the ground instead of perching.

Also she seems to be the top of the pecking order at least at the moment.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I will take one tomorrow...but there are other roosts that no one sleeps on. They are 2 feet away and 4 feet away. She is also close to the other birds, just on the ground instead of perching.

Also she seems to be the top of the pecking order at least at the moment.

Has she ever roosted? How big are your roosts? 2x4 is the most comfortable to birds.

How close is the roost to the roof? Head room?

Have you checked for mites in the roost cracks?

 

[Rushdoggie]

Has she ever roosted? How big are your roosts? 2x4 is the most comfortable to birds.

How close is the roost to the roof? Head room?

Have you checked for mites in the roost cracks?

Its an aframe, theres a roost in the middle, and one on each end. the ones at the end are 2x2s, the one in the middle is a 2x4. The area they sleep in is and the end, less head room that the middle. There's no cracks yet, its only 3 months old but I haven't noticed any mites.

She sleeps in the gap between the roost and the side wall. Shes kind of cuddled against the 2 on the roost but on the ground instead of the roost.

She roosts on the roosting bars in her run and in the chicken yard. She just doesn't seem to want to sleep on one.

 

[aart]

Pics at roost time would really help here.
I use poop boards with PDZ and several birds choose to sleep right on the board.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Some do like wide and flat.

Where are you located? Do you get frozen ground? She may still eventually go to roost. Some take longer than others.