Chicken priorities: height before warmth.

[welsummer4]

Silly chickens. It's 20 degrees out and my girls are roosting on top of their insulated drop-ceiling, directly below two square feet of open vents. I had to lower the roost two feet when I installed the ceiling, but they're certainly not having any of that nonsense. Don't they know I spent an entire Saturday engineering that thing? Hopefully they'll wise up before we dip below-zero.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Brrrr makes me cold just reading it!!!!

Tell them to get their fluffy selves down to comfort!

 

[donrae]

I have three from this summer's hatch that are still roosting in the birch tree. Two on one limb, one just below them. You'd think they're freezing, esp when it rains and the tree is now leafless. But they're growing nicely, and one of the pullets started laying!

 

[abhaya]

I have a couple who do the same thing

 

[centrarchid]

Quote:
Air may be stratified in respect to temperature with warmest on top. My birds also like a view when roosting. Escape routes.

 

[welsummer4]

Quote:
That makes sense. Do you think the drop ceiling is even worth it? I was hoping that half an inch of plywood and an inch of styrofoam a foot above there head would help trap their body heat when they roost, but maybe I didn't make it tight enough. I left some gaps in the front and back so that moisture could escape, but maybe it was overkill if the heat is escaping too. Or, maybe they really do prefer height over warmth, or just haven't figured it out yet.

 

[centrarchid]

Drop ceiling for me is highway for rodents and potential humidity trap. Chickens seem very adept at finding warm spots in their environment. If temperatures become really cold, staying warm will take presedence over height if a conflict does exists.

 

[elmo]

It's instinct, and actually not silly. Chickens are vulnerable while asleep on their roost, so a higher roost is safer than a lower one. Perhaps you better re-engineer your setup, rather than trying to persuade your chickens to override their instincts?