Chicken who used to roost no longer roosting?

[Fluffy_Moth_With_Silkies]

Hi!
I got a new chicken recently who used to use the roosting pole. Now that she's her with me, she won't roost.
I've asked a question like this before and got some good answers, and I tried a few. I started putting them *manually* on the roosting pole and it seemed to work. She did it for a while, but I checked on her today when I was closing the door and she was with the other two (who, frankly, are not smart) in the nesting boxes. I'm trying to get her (and the other two) to sleep on the roosting pole like they are supposed to. But they just won't and they INSIST on sleeping in the nesting boxes.

Any ideas will help!
Thanks.
-Moth

 

[rosemarythyme]

Block the nest boxes before it gets dark. Manually put them on the roost, and then unblock the nests after it's completely dark.

 

[Perris]

like they are supposed to

says who? This from Nicol Behavioural biology of chickens 2015, on work done with thousands of commercial hens in commercial sheds:

p.86 “80-95% of hens roost on perches at night [in furnished cages, where they have roosts]… individual variation is observed, with some hens roosting consistently on the cage floor at night… Their feet are not particularly specialized for grasping in comparison with other bird species. Chickens also use their feet for locomotion and for scratching for food, so they may not have a specific grasping motivation”

p.87 “preferences for perch widths and shapes appear even more variable than preference for perch height… on perches of less than 4.5cm, hens find it more difficult to balance… perhaps reflecting an evolved natural tolerance for variably sized branches.”

 

[saysfaa]

Is the roost noticeably higher than the nest boxes?

 

[Fluffy_Moth_With_Silkies]

Is the roost noticeably higher than the nest boxes?

Not very. It's about head level for them.

 

[JedJackson]

Not an easy problem to solve in most cases. Maybe you could use a tarp or something to cover the nest boxes at night and remove it in the morning? Otherwise, I would probably start monkeying with the roosts, try them in different positions, or maybe change the wood to see if that helps.

 

[aart]

So the older chickens don't use the roost either?
Pics of nests and roosts please?