Chickens not Roosting

[Georgeschicks]

So my chickens are now 6 and a baldish weeks old and they still don't roost. Instead they curl up in a content of the coop together. It is pretty warm here and the temperature never gets below 65. Why aren't they roosting yet?

 

[Georgeschicks]

So my chickens are now 6 and a baldish weeks old and they still don't roost. Instead they curl up in a content of the coop together. It is pretty warm here and the temperature never gets below 65. Why aren't they roosting yet?

*halfish

 

[snow5164]

What kind of hens ? Silkies won't always roost

Did you go in at night and physically place them on the roost ? Sounds stupid I know but they need to be shown what to do and once they're older and pooping big girl poops ( while they sleep ) , you'll want them on a roost not sitting in it.

 

[Georgeschicks]

What kind of hens ? Silkies won't always roost

Did you go in at night and physically place them on the roost ? Sounds stupid I know but they need to be shown what to do and once they're older and pooping big girl poops ( while they sleep ) , you'll want them on a roost not sitting in it.

None are silkies they are Easter eggers/ Ameraucana, French Marans and delawares. I have tried the roost idea few times but they usually fly off the roost pretty quickly.

 

[andreanar]

Pshh I have 14 week olds not roosting, I wish they would cause Id rather just be able to scoop the poop board.

 

[BlueShadow]

If you want to put them on the roost, you have to go in well after dark and keep it as dark as possible in the coop when you put them on, and so they stay on. I put feed sacks in the windows to block the yard light. After a week of trying, I gave up, but perhaps your birds won't be as persistent in roosting on the floor as mine were.

 

[Georgeschicks]

If you want to put them on the roost, you have to go in well after dark and keep it as dark as possible in the coop when you put them on, and so they stay on. I put feed sacks in the windows to block the yard light. After a week of trying, I gave up, but perhaps your birds won't be as persistent in roosting on the floor as mine were.

I will try that, if they never roost is that ok? Will it harm them?

 

[BlueShadow]

I will try that, if they never roost is that ok? Will it harm them?

Not really, as long as the bedding on the floor is suitably thick. They will be more likely to have dirty feet, and you will have to clean the bedding more often

 

[aldarita]

I used to insist my chickens sleep on the roost so I went through the recommended procedure of placing them on the roost bar every night several times but I have given up and pretty much let them do what they want. I have different ages in my flocks so the younger ones learn from the older however some of them still sleep on the floor of the coop which is messier to clean but since I clean the coops every day, that is not a problem for me. My main rooster is 4 years old and he still sleeps on the bottom of the roosting box in the same spot he has always slept since he was a cockerel. It does not affect them at all if they don't ever sleep on the roost, it is just a matter of convenience for us keepers because it is easier to clean.

 

[Ridgerunner]

What you are seeing is pretty typical for me. When I raise chicks in a brooder and then isolate them in my grow-out coop, most tend to start roosting overnight around 10 to 12 weeks. I've had some start around 5 weeks, I've had some go longer than 12, but 10 to 12 weeks old is a pretty good average. They may play on the roosts during the day, but that's perching. Roosting is when they spend the night on the roosts.

When I raise chicks in the main coop with my adults everything is out of the window. I've had a broody hen take her chicks to the roosts at two weeks. She could protect them while up there. I've had chicks not go to the main roosts until the pullets start to lay. There is a lot of interaction between adults and immature chickens that can really mess this up.

But you are not in that situation best I can tell. You just have the 5 week old chicks. If you want you can start setting them on the roosts t night, if you are patient you can probably get them to start roosting before too long. Or you can let nature take its course. You are not going to damage them either way.