Chickens not jumping up onto perch in new coop

[aart]

Posting some pics of your coop interior showing all and the roosts would help us spot any issues that might need to be resolved

 

[blackdog043]

Welcome and glad you decided to join us!

When I first purchased my hens, I had a simple coop where as the hens walked in, they effectively walked onto the perches which were just above ground level (which was a giant tray that could be pulled out and bedding cleaned). No jumping was required as they basically stepped onto the perches. At night, all the chickens slept on the perches and not in the nest box and all was good.

I've recently upgraded the coop to a larger one and the perches are now approx. 2ft off the ground. So as they walk in, it's just bedding and they can walk all around but have to hop up onto the perches.

For 2 years all they had to do was walk in and step on the roost, now they have to jump up and aren't used to doing that. Chickens are creatures of habit and haven't caught on yet, that they have to jump up or are being lazy. You might need a ramp or something for them to jump on first, then jump up to the roost.

Do they have enough room to jump up to the roost?
What are you using for the roost bars, that may be part of the problem?
Pictures of the inside would help, so we know your set up.

 

[davidbaggaley]

Hi everyone

Thank you all so much for your replies. Can't believe how helpful and responsive you've all been.

I'll try and answer some of the questions you've posed so far;
1. My hens are free range so have plenty of space to roam outside

2. I don't have any roosts outside for them to roost on.

3. In the area they have, there are a few old tree stumps which are a similar level to the roosts inside the coop. The hens love jumping up on to this during the day which gives me comfort that they can indeed jump up to a sufficient height.

4. The first coop was a pre-fab - I've provided a link below which gives a good idea of the coop I had with plenty of photos

https://www.manomano.co.uk/p/chicke...p-to-10-birds-depending-on-size-a-01-10875902

5. The new coop is another pre-fab but i'm really happy with it and the business that supplies it are local to me and have a load of experience and great feedback. See link below which provides information and a full video giving a "tour" of the inside

https://www.durhamhens.co.uk/poultry-supplies/Durham-Hen-House-for-up-to-12-hens-p99068553

6. There is plenty of light in the coop when they go in and space for them to jump up. A friend of mine has this coop and I've seen their hens all up on the perch with no problem.

7. I only have 5 hens and coop can hold 12 (I wouldn't put 12 in it though as it think it would be too much of a squeeze).

8. I like the box idea and will try this over the weekend and report back.

9. Comments re hens being creatures of habit is exactly what I had been thinking. I was concerned that their new habit would simply become waiting for me to come out each night and lift them up (hence diva chickens) so hopefully the box does the trick.

10. My hens are 2.5yrs old

I think I've answered everyone's questions and hopefully that's helpful.

Any more ideas i'm all ears and if anything I've provided above doesn't make sense, please let me know.

Thanks

David

 

[aart]

5. The new coop is another pre-fab but i'm really happy with it and the business that supplies it are local to me and have a load of experience and great feedback. See link below which provides information and a full video giving a "tour" of the inside

https://www.durhamhens.co.uk/poultry-supplies/Durham-Hen-House-for-up-to-12-hens-p99068553

Space is tight for them to jump up to and down from those roosts.
Not sure adding a 'step' would help.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I am wondering about headroom above the roost. It looks really close to the roof....especially along the low wall.

 

[hispoptart]

Also those tiny little vents don't seem like they would allow much light in there.

 

[sealer39]

Wow, I know that coop cost some money but it’s pretty tiny for 5 chickens. It needs some more ventilation framed in. They probably just don’t have enough room to get to the roost bars. Try removing one and see if that helps. I don’t know what the weather is like over there but it could be to hot in the evenings for them to want roost close to the roof.

 

[aart]

There is a big difference in the coop sizes/minimum space for chickens in America to the UK. I've found that after joining this site.
The majority of UK pre-fab coops are even smaller than the American ones.

Both US and UK prefabs are grossly inaccurate as to number of birds.
But birds in both countries need the same amount of space

 

[PirateGirl]

I have had birds

Indeed they are far too small in both places. Some I've even seen smaller than a single rabbit cage and they state you can fit 6-8 large hens in them etc maybe the hens magically shrink when they walk through the coop doors?

I wasn't aware the minimum space was the same, now I am! It's just the majority of ones I've came across on this site seem bigger. Size is hard to judge on a photo though. Plus, our measurements tend to come in different forms and my maths converting skills are pretty shocking!

There’s and app for that

Hmm... now I have an idea for a real app, one where you plug in the dimensions of a prefab coop (any unit of measure) and it spits out a number of LF or Bantam hens you could put in there!

 

[aart]

Hmm... now I have an idea for a real app, one where you plug in the dimensions of a prefab coop (any unit of measure) and it spits out a number of LF or Bantam hens you could put in there!

There probably already is one....I have a freeware conversion program that's probably 20 years old.... I use it frequently.