Chickens don’t want to sleep on roost

[eevans1213]

Hello all! I need some advice on how to get our chickens to use their roost at night when sleeping. We received these chickens about a week ago. Some are about 6 months old. Most are 1 year old. There are 13 of them. The roosting bars are about 3 feet wide. Unfortunately ever since we got them, only 1 hen sleeps on the roost. Most of them sleep huddled up in corners of the coop floor. And three of them were sleeping in the nesting boxes. We closed them all up tonight except one to help with that issue. How can we train them to use the roost at night? Is it maybe just that they aren’t yet used to the new coop? Or perhaps they are just cold? It does drop to 20 degree F here at night right now. Picture of roost attached! Tonight we went in and placed them on the roosting bars ourselves in hopes that might be a good start in training them. This is the only reason half of them are on the roost in the 2nd photo. The other half hopped right back down into the corner below the roost. Any tips/tricks/advice is much appreciated! Thanks in advance!

 

[Devyn Nagy]

I've always just let them sleep where they want to. They eventually have started using the perches, but some still sleep on the floor. I don't think it's a big deal.

 

[Farmgirl283420]

Hello all! I need some advice on how to get our chickens to use their roost at night when sleeping. We received these chickens about a week ago. Some are about 6 months old. Most are 1 year old. There are 13 of them. The roosting bars are about 3 feet wide. Unfortunately ever since we got them, only 1 hen sleeps on the roost. Most of them sleep huddled up in corners of the coop floor. And three of them were sleeping in the nesting boxes. We closed them all up tonight except one to help with that issue. How can we train them to use the roost at night? Is it maybe just that they aren’t yet used to the new coop? Or perhaps they are just cold? It does drop to 20 degree F here at night right now. Picture of roost attached! Tonight we went in and placed them on the roosting bars ourselves in hopes that might be a good start in training them. This is the only reason half of them are on the roost in the 2nd photo. The other half hopped right back down into the corner below the roost. Any tips/tricks/advice is much appreciated! Thanks in advance!

When I put new pullets in the coop they will sleep in the nest boxes and then after maybe a few weeks they’ll go on by themselves. Hope you can figure it out!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Hard to tell from the photo, but what's the angle on the roosts? The one that doesn't have birds in photo 2 looks too steeply pitched, so birds on upper bars could poop on birds below.

Did the birds roost overnight in their previous home? Not everyone provides roosts for their birds so they may not have learned before.

Blocking nests before dark should help, as would placing them on the roosts once it is dark.

 

[aart]

Both look rather steep, and the one to the left has smaller roosts with 'sharp' edges on top which is less comfortable.

 

[eevans1213]

Both look rather steep, and the one to the left has smaller roosts with 'sharp' edges on top which is less comfortable.

After checking, the roosts were slightly too steep. we got the roosts lowered to at least 40 degrees. We have went out there the last 3 nights to put the chickens on the roost manually. Half of them just hopped right back down immediately and ran back to their corner with their “head” alpha rooster. There’s only 2 that seem to want to use it on their own accord. I think the previous owners may have had a roost that was too small for all 13 of them so they perhaps got used to sleeping on the floor in their separate cliques with their roosters. And the roosters are quite large and are having a hard time staying on the roosts when we set them up there. They can’t seem to balance or maneuver well so they fall off or jump off. They act so awkward up there. Which also might just be because they aren’t used to being on the bars if they have never really used them previously. All just speculation. They seem happy and healthy so I think for now we’re just gonna let them be, let them do their thing, and hopefully in the future they might start using them on their own.

 

[eevans1213]

Hard to tell from the photo, but what's the angle on the roosts? The one that doesn't have birds in photo 2 looks too steeply pitched, so birds on upper bars could poop on birds below.

Did the birds roost overnight in their previous home? Not everyone provides roosts for their birds so they may not have learned before.

Blocking nests before dark should help, as would placing them on the roosts once it is dark.

After checking, the roosts were slightly too steep. we got the roosts lowered to at least 40 degrees. We have went out there the last 3 nights to put the chickens on the roost manually. Half of them just hopped right back down immediately and ran back to their corner with their “head” alpha rooster. There’s only 2 that seem to want to use it on their own accord. I think the previous owners may have had a roost that was too small for all 13 of them so they perhaps got used to sleeping on the floor in their separate cliques with their roosters. And the roosters are quite large and are having a hard time staying on the roosts when we set them up there. They can’t seem to balance or maneuver well so they fall off or jump off. They act so awkward up there. Which also might just be because they aren’t used to being on the bars if they have never really used them previously. All just speculation. They seem happy and healthy so I think for now we’re just gonna let them be, let them do their thing, and hopefully in the future they might start using them on their own.

 

[Penpal]

I can't tell how wide the roosts are. They need to be wide enough for the chickens to easily settle down and lay on their feet. I suspect yours may be too narrow for the size of birds you have. And, some chickens just don't like the ladder style. I use a sawhorse style of roost. You can make one or two yourself and make the legs as tall as you want. Use a 1 x4.

 

[whatthechickens]

Try rounding off the rungs a bit to make it more comfortable, I'd also add a small ladder/stairs on the two rails to make it easy for hens to climb up. My chickens hop up easily to the first rung but are more hesitant to hop between rungs if that makes sense.

The angle shouldn't be too steep as hens can't hop vertically and you don't want top perchers pooing on lower ones.

To stop them going into nest boxes I put my perches significantly higher up as hens love to be away from the ground (and danger) when they sleep).

At end of day each chicken is individual and they may just be so used to sleeping on the ground that they won't change now. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[rosemarythyme]

And the roosters are quite large and are having a hard time staying on the roosts when we set them up there. They can’t seem to balance or maneuver well so they fall off or jump off. They act so awkward up there. Which also might just be because they aren’t used to being on the bars if they have never really used them previously. All just speculation. They seem happy and healthy so I think for now we’re just gonna let them be, let them do their thing, and hopefully in the future they might start using them on their own.

Maybe try some bigger bars as well. Not sure the diameter on some of those, but if you're using branches aim for 2" diameter or more (if using cut lumber, 2x4s is standard). The ones that the birds are using look thicker than the others.

But ultimately if it doesn't bother you to have them sleeping on the ground, it really doesn't hurt them either if that's their preference, as long as the litter is regularly cleaned or stirred up so they're not sitting in excess poop.