Chickens not roosting

[Ron Burns]

Hello,

I have had chickens now for about 18 months. All is going well, and I have been reading this forum since I started and I thank all for the great info. I decided to post because I have an issue I can't figure out.
I had 4 hens originally and added 6 chicks this spring. Chicks turned out to be 2 roosters (black Australop) and 4 hens (amber links). I sectioned off half the run and added a dog coop for the chicks after they left my basement in the spring (and that was a great day as they basement was a stinking mess)..... The chicks (which are 9 months old now) have been integrated with the four other hens for the last 5 months. I removed the dog crate, 3 months ago, figuring they would all go in the coop now. They did not, they just sat on the ground at night or on a bucket. I have sold off 3 of the 4 older hens leaving one that is 2.5 years old, and 6 that are 9 months old. The issue I have is the young ones will go up in the coop at night, which they didn't even start doing until it was getting colder out, but they will not go on the perches.
All six nest on the ground of the coop and the one 2.5 year old girl sits on the roost at night.
What the heck? Any idea why they will not go up on the perches? They have no issue jumping up to the next boxes to lay, which are just below the perches. The other hens, always would sit on the perches every night. I have 2 six foot long perches, so they have tons of room. There is straw on the bottom of the coop, and it is almost like, they grew up in a dog crate with straw so think they should just sit there.
Any ideas?

Thanks,
Ron

 

[sourland]

Any chance the older hen is keeping them off the roost? Try separating her from the flock for one day and see if they use the roost.

 

[Ron Burns]

No I don't think so at all. One odd thing is she (as did the other 4 hens) always goes to bed 30 minutes before dark. The younger ones, wonder in as it is getting dark. I have had them integrated for about 3-4 months and they all 7 go out and run around the yard a few days a week. She isn't even a dominate hen. It is almost like the younger ones don't know they should roost. Yet one day, as it was getting colder I saw them all sitting on buckets roosting, and it was pouring rain. The next day I did see, they all 6 figured out to go in the coop. They just don't roost. Got me.

 

[Hope Hughes]

Hello!!! Welcome to BYC!!
You could try putting them on the roost (away from the older hen) whennit gets dark until they get the point. I had to do this with a set of pullets and roos one year. After a week they got the point some faster then others.
I know thats a pain but they are worth the work. ​

 

[chickens really]

What breed of Chickens?....Really could be they never learned to Roost?...I use 2x4s flat side up...More of a place to lay on....

 

[Penny spender]

Maybe go in at dark and place them on the roost? I had a couple of new girls that I had to do that with...it was only a couple of nights and they figured it out.

 

[aart]

No I don't think so at all. One odd thing is she (as did the other 4 hens) always goes to bed 30 minutes before dark. The younger ones, wonder in as it is getting dark. I have had them integrated for about 3-4 months and they all 7 go out and run around the yard a few days a week. She isn't even a dominate hen. It is almost like the younger ones don't know they should roost. Yet one day, as it was getting colder I saw them all sitting on buckets roosting, and it was pouring rain. The next day I did see, they all 6 figured out to go in the coop. They just don't roost. Got me.

Would you post pics of your coop, inside and out?
Are there windows in the coop letting in some light?
They may go in too late to see the roosts so just hunker down wherever.
Placing them on the roosts after dark can work too.

 

[Ron Burns]

Thanks all for the advice. I will try putting them on the roost after dark.
I don't have a photo of coop, but it does have windows. Crazy chickens, I don't know why they don't roost. They used to roost outside on a pole out there in the summer, but now that it is colder, I removed that so I could get them to go in the coop, which they do now, but they don't get on the roosts.
I do almost think they go in too late to see it. They go in the coop a good 30 minutes after the older hen. If they hear me they will even run out in the run and want to come play in the dark. Little kids.......lol

 

[aart]

It's odd that they don't with the older bird showing them how,
as it's not unusual with a flock of 'chicks'.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It’s really hard to know what is going on with behaviors, it could be so many different things. I’ll start by saying as long as they are not sleeping in the nests and are protected from predators and weather I don’t see where it matters where they sleep. I’m not one that thinks they have to sleep on roosts.

I assume those pullets are laying? Usually about the time pullets start laying they mature enough to force their way into the pecking order. That’s usually when mine stop sleeping other places and move to the main roosts. Until then the adults outrank them in the pecking order and often keep them off the roosts. The hen going to the roosts so much earlier makes me think this might have something to do with it. My immature chickens are usually the last to go into the coop as if they are afraid of the older chickens.

It might have something to do with those cockerels. Some older hens don’t put up with cockerels until those males mature into responsible adults. The pullets may prefer to sleep with their cockerel buddies than with the older hen. By nine moths that should have happened.

It could be that they never learned to roost, but with them sleeping on the edge of the buckets I’m not sure. To me it sounds like they are still afraid of that hen but it could be something else entirely. I’m kind of laid back in may approach, I try to not force them to do anything they don’t want to do unless I have a reason. I just leave mine alone and let them work out roosting as long as they stay out of the nests. They always work it out in their own time. But if you want to train them to use those roosts, the others have told you how I’d go about it. Just stick some of them up there after dark. Normally if you can get one to start the others soon follow.