Chicken sleeping on floor- all of a sudden

[rosemarythyme]

I can't force her to be on the roost. There is plenty of room. Are there any health concerns with her floor sleeping preference?

Not really. She might get some poop build up from sitting in it, if she doesn't move around enough, and may be slightly more likely to pick up pests, but I'd say if she won't roost, then floor is certainly preferable to nest box.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Is there any chance of rats or mice chewing on her feet? Is she under the other hens where she can get pooped on? Where is she in the pecking order, do you know? When you added to the roost, did you just add length to the existing roost? Can you possibly build another roost opposite the existing one? This way, if she is getting pushed off the roost (highly likely), she has somewhere to go to get away from the bully. We had a similar problem and this fixed it for us. Good luck!

 

[Krazikatlady64]

I had a RIR that went up on the roost with the others. She was never up there for very long. She slept on the poop board under the roost next to the others for a while. It was almost like she was afraid of heights. Now she is one of the pushy girls for the top spot on the roost. She also goes to the top roost 6' regularly. She is 7 months old now.

 

[LJ33]

Is there any chance of rats or mice chewing on her feet? Is she under the other hens where she can get pooped on? Where is she in the pecking order, do you know? When you added to the roost, did you just add length to the existing roost? Can you possibly build another roost opposite the existing one? This way, if she is getting pushed off the roost (highly likely), she has somewhere to go to get away from the bully. We had a similar problem and this fixed it for us. Good luck!

I have more of the railing and going to add 4 foot of a whole additional roost. No mice, the coop is 2-3 feet up off the ground and very secure at night. And this bird is kind of middle of the pack as far as pecking order, she is definitely not at the bottom.

 

[LJ33]

I had a RIR that went up on the roost with the others. She was never up there for very long. She slept on the poop board under the roost next to the others for a while. It was almost like she was afraid of heights. Now she is one of the pushy girls for the top spot on the roost. She also goes to the top roost 6' regularly. She is 7 months old now.

I need to get the camera set back up and see what is going on at night.

 

[LJ33]

Not really. She might get some poop build up from sitting in it, if she doesn't move around enough, and may be slightly more likely to pick up pests, but I'd say if she won't roost, then floor is certainly preferable to nest box.

She sleeps under the poop board, but yeah, its not ideal from a cleanliness standpoint. I do clean the coop out every other day and keep straw on the bottom.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Sounds like you have some excellent strategies in place for getting a handle on this situation! Do keep us posted. Others have had this problem in the past.

 

[LJ33]

Sounds like you have some excellent strategies in place for getting a handle on this situation! Do keep us posted. Others have had this problem in the past...

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, haven't added the other railing yet, (working til dark)
So tonight I checked on them when I got home and she is on the roost! will keep monitoring and I should be able to add that other roost in the next couple days.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

, haven't added the other railing yet, (working til dark)
So tonight I checked on them when I got home and she is on the roost! will keep monitoring and I should be able to add that other roost in the next couple days.
[/QUOTE]
wonderful news!