We have 6 chicken, the kids got them at a church bazaar and they were supposed to be egg layers but seem to be some hybrid broiler variety so they are BIG chickens We are not keeping them for meat but as pets and apparently they will lay so we will see They have a nice run and a chicken coop they all go into at night and there are some perches up for them but they never go onto them, they all just sleep in the floor. If they are big birds will they still want to perch? Do I need to make low perches? If you put them up on the perch they stay for a few seconds and then sort of crash land themselves back on the floor. Anyone else with hefty chickens that have helped then roost?
can you post pics so we can see what kind of birds you have? What do your roosts look like...my birds (and many other people's birds it seems) prefer roosting on a shelf rather than a pole...
I adopted a "meat bird", the owner bought her to eat, and fell in love with her so was going to keep her.... long story. She is so fat, she can barely walk. She cuddles up with the silkies in the corner, I think she should be fine.
They are all white, someone said they could be white rocks The roosts are from our old pine tree so quite big
Perhaps the diameter of the perches are too wide for them to get a good grip on (thus the crashing to the floor response)? Gail
If they are in fact cornish x chickens, roosting can be potentially life threatening for them. They can break legs when jumping down because of their weight. I think they'd be better off sleeping on the floor.
apparently they are not cornish cross but a hybrid broiler variety. I am happy for them to sleep on the floor as long as they are happy.
Probably physically impossible for them to roost. The bad news. If they are a broiler/meat chicken they generally do not live long. They have been breed for quick meat development and have a tendancy to die of heart attacks if kept much past the intended live expectancy of 8-12 weeks. Just be prepared for the possibility.
I had chickens that were very large birds. One being a roo that was 20lb and the hen about 10lb. I had a small coop with a perch a few inches off the ground and they used it but, when I got a bigger coop and more birds and the perch was higher up it's almost like they couldn't fly up because they were so big. So if you want them to perch I recomend you make one very low to the ground.
