Chickens don't seem to like the roosts and sleep in egg boxes

[carlos_zaragoza]

Hi,
We have 8 hens that are just coming into laying age (we literally just got two eggs this week). I am not sure which hen(s) laid the eggs because they were just on the ground in the run when I went out to check on them on two consecutive days.

Here is the issue. I have two roosts inside the coop that are about 16 inches off the floor of the coop. My wife thinks they are too high but I have seen them just easily jump up on these roost so I don't think that is it.

At night when they go into the coop, my hens will all congregate together in one of the four egg boxes (I mean really, like 5 of them will huddle up in there and the other 3 will huddle up just outside of that box). A friend of mine at work said to not let them sleep in the egg boxes and make them use the roosts. Last night I placed a long piece of plywood over the boxes so they couldn't get in them but there is little evidence they were on the roosts overnight.

When they were small, we had them in a large box in the garage and I put a 1/2 dowel across there for a roost and they took to it like crazy. I have tried physically placing them on the roosts in the coop but they don't act like they like it and they jump off pretty quick. I have only ever seen one hen at a time up on the roosts inside the coop. There are some shorter roosts in the corners of our run that they will roost on a little bit during the day.

Any suggestions?

 

[debid]

Can you take a picture of the setup?

There are several possibilities including the roost being too low (if the nests are higher, they'll go there). They also prefer a window seat so if the nests are by the window and the roost is far from it, they might choose the view. Without seeing the coop, it's just guessing, though.

 

[FlyWheel]

Assuming the roosts are above the nest boxes, then the easiest solution is to just close off the boxes in the evening before they go to sleep. You did mention they are still immature, they may just need their instincts to kick in.

 

[carlos_zaragoza]

The roosts are above the nesting boxes.

I generally followed a design that we liked on a youtube video, although I customized a lot of it due to living where we get a lot of snow. I don't have any photos of the inside of my coop but the attached photos are identical to my set up. You can see the roosts on the right of the photo and the nesting boxes on the left.

There is a window there but they would not be able to see out of it from where they hang out. They could actually see out of it from the roosts.

 

[rileyslilhenz]

For the nest boxes put some nesting herbs inside that particularly smell good and it may encourage going in and sniff the herbs which eventually they will associate the nest box with good smell and maybe they will go and lay in it. I don't even know if this works but I'm gonna try it

 

[carlos_zaragoza]

For the nest boxes put some nesting herbs inside that particularly smell good and it may encourage going in and sniff the herbs which eventually they will associate the nest box with good smell and maybe they will go and lay in it. I don't even know if this works but I'm gonna try it

Thanks. I do have straw in there and pine shavings in the rest of the coop floor, but I don't think the straw would be a draw for smell.

The thing is they love the nesting boxes, but they think it is their bed / gathering place. I think I am going to continue to not allow them access to it at night. That might make it more likely they will use the roosts and also more likely that they might see the boxes as a sanctuary for laying during daytime.

 

[Verl]

We had this problem too! It only took 3 or 3 nights of doing this, but I would go out around 10pm when it was pitch dark, pick them up one by one, and place them on roosts. From then on, they have gone up themselves! They love the roost bars 9 feet up as opposed to the 3 and 4 foot ones I thought they would like. Lol.

 

[TeeMom]

In my experience, this is totally normal behavior. In fact, I have a tarp folded and hooked above my boxes so I can easily cover the entrances when I have young birds. I have 6 chicks now that hatched out on Mother's day, so 3ish months old who desperately want to sleep anywhere but the roosts. I'm sure some of that has to do with bullying from the older birds, but eventually they all work it out and they will all roost...IF access to the nest boxes are denied until they are roosting regularly. I've also had luck going in after dark and picking up young birds and placing them on the roost. They seem to get it after that.

 

[carlos_zaragoza]

We had this problem too! It only took 3 or 3 nights of doing this, but I would go out around 10pm when it was pitch dark, pick them up one by one, and place them on roosts. From then on, they have gone up themselves! They love the roost bars 9 feet up as opposed to the 3 and 4 foot ones I thought they would like. Lol.

I've done that but maybe not late enough (they are still wide awake). The design of my coop doesn't make it really easy to put 8 hens up on the roosts. I've tried to put 4 up there thinking the others will clue in. I am sure they will get it. They are still teenagers I guess.

 

[JedJackson]

The branch might be too thick or too thin. And if it's at all wobbly they won't go on the roost. Another possibility is that there is a draft coming through where the roost is but not at the nest boxes. It's good advice to keep putting them on there but if they refuse to stay after a few days it's important to find out why.