Chicken Stopped Sleeping on Perch. Why?

[JuChicks]

Hey there, I have a pretty self-explanatory dilemma: My chicken, who seems perfectly healthy, eats/drinks, and I've never seen bullied, has stopped going on the perch to sleep at night. I have 4 hens and just made them a new coop. They all slept on the perch the first few days and all seemed pretty well. Then, one of them simply sleeping on the hay. I only saw her do this twice in a row when I screw their door in at night (I still haven't finished their electric door and burying fencing around the run, so I want to be extra careful). Anyone know why she's doing this, if there's anything to worry about, and how to get her back on the perch? Thanks!

 

[CIuck]

Hey there, I have a pretty self-explanatory dilemma: My chicken, who seems perfectly healthy, eats/drinks, and I've never seen bullied, has stopped going on the perch to sleep at night. I have 4 hens and just made them a new coop. They all slept on the perch the first few days and all seemed pretty well. Then, one of them simply sleeping on the hay. I only saw her do this twice in a row when I screw their door in at night (I still haven't finished their electric door and burying fencing around the run, so I want to be extra careful). Anyone know why she's doing this, if there's anything to worry about, and how to get her back on the perch? Thanks!

I had a one night glitch with one my chickens sleeping on the floor. The next night she when back to sleeping on the roost. Post pictures of the inside coop setup. It could because the coop is dirty, when was the last time you cleaned it? Is the roost high? It could also be a glitch like my chicken. I am not an expert so you may want to wait for some better advice

 

[Yardmom]

How much space do they have? Is the roost at least a foot from the wall? Is there enough room to spred out if they are not getting along? That can change daily. How old are the birds? Is she acting normal during the day?

 

[JuChicks]

I had a one night glitch with one my chickens sleeping on the floor. The next night she when back to sleeping on the roost. Post pictures of the inside coop setup. It could because the coop is dirty, when was the last time you cleaned it? Is the roost high? It could also be a glitch like my chicken. I am not an expert so you may want to wait for some better advice

The roost is about 1.6 feet off the ground. 1ft from the closest wall, 3 ft from the far wall, 4 feet across, and I cleaned the coop about a week ago. (The coop is all new)

 

[JuChicks]

How much space do they have? Is the roost at least a foot from the wall? Is there enough room to spread out if they are not getting along? That can change daily. How old are the birds? Is she acting normal during the day?

The roost is about 1.6 feet off the ground. 1ft from the closest wall, 3 ft from the far wall, 4 feet across, and I cleaned the coop about a week ago. (The coop is all new) The birds were born in April 2020 and she acts perfectly normal during the day.

 

[mufflerchick]

I have 2 Cochin hens that prefer to sleep on their hay too and the roo is up on the roost. I thought at first that they didn't know how to roost (maybe the instinct wasn't kickin in) so I would put them on the roost each night. I had moved them into a new coop and their other coop the roost boards were along the floor....really bad design. They are in an elevated coop with NO way for predator's to get inside so I'm ok with this...but when they poo it doesn't fall off their feathers so their butt always looks icky.

 

[Yardmom]

It sounds like plenty of room. As long as she is acting normal during the day I would not be to concerned.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Even though you have enough roost space, she could possibly be getting bullied off of it. A second roost would be nice, or maybe try putting up a divider (something as simple as cardboard would do) and then putting her on the roost, to see if that helps her stick on it.

 

[aart]

The roost is about 1.6 feet off the ground. 1ft from the closest wall, 3 ft from the far wall, 4 feet across, and I cleaned the coop about a week ago. (The coop is all new)

4' is just enough.
Is the new roost higher than the old one?
Sometimes they need extra space to fly up.
Pics of coop and roost would help immensely here.

 

[JuChicks]

Even though you have enough roost space, she could possibly be getting bullied off of it. A second roost would be nice, or maybe try putting up a divider (something as simple as cardboard would do) and then putting her on the roost, to see if that helps her stick on it.

4' is just enough.
Is the new roost higher than the old one?
Sometimes they need extra space to fly up.
Pics of coop and roost would help immensely here.

I'll try to send some pictures, the new roost isn't much higher though (a couple of inches at most).