Chickens sleeping on barn shelf, need advice for winter

[Jenjens]

Hi,

I have a shed that was used as a miniature horse barn. It was there when I bought the house. It has everything needed....windows, vents and electricity. Since it was used for a horse, there is a top shelf that was used for the hay. I bought chickens in May and made that their home.

Thing is, they use the roosts til around 8:30, and then they all fly up to the top shelf to sleep. I added linoleum to the shelf so it was easier cleanup, since it was real hard to clean poop off of the wood.

I just scrape up the poop which takes a.second and mop to clean. We tried to remove access to the shelf ( our nest boxes are tiered shelves that we got from goodwill so they can use those to jump up top) they Freaked and destroyed everything, so we put it back. They really like to sleep up there, so whatever makes them happy.

Long story short, sorry, I live in Illinois and the nights are starting to get cold. Should I add bedding on the shelf? It will certainly make cleanup a lot harder and I will be going through tons of pine shavings. I just imagine their feet getting cold in the winter. Summer is fine without it since when I did use it once they all pushed it aside.It

Thanks!!

 

[Folly's place]

Birds will roost as high as they can, and apparently that's the spot in your coop.
Consider either removing that shelf, because it's now inconvenient, or closing it off so they can't access it.
How about posting some coop pictures? They want to have roosts in there, away from drafts but high. I use saplings or tree branches, bark on, 2" to 3" diameter, and some of my birds roost in the rafters eight feet up, on 4" fence posts.
Mary

 

[Sea Wolf]

I would block it off like you did before. They will try once or twice to get back up there but then they will stop. I had to do the same with a coop I built. They will try to get to the highest spot whether it is good or bad for them. My coop had nice perches but they insisted on managing to get up onto the narrow rafters above. I had to staple chicken wire underneath them to prevent them from getting up in there. They were upset for a day or two but then used the perches.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I also would probably block it off. Chickens don't like change but they adapt pretty quickly. They will get over it and no long term harm will have been done to them.

I don't know what that area looks like or what the winter air flow will be in your coop. If you have enough room you could elevate a roost above that linoleum. They would probably move up there. If you elevate it do it so you can scrape under it, but what kind of access would you have? Will it be out of any breezes blowing through there in the winter?

I don't know what that coop looks like or what would be your best solution. It may be challenging to block it off, an elevated roost may be the best situation. I'll be kind of blunt but in these situations I choose what is best for me. The chickens will adjust and I don't want to make life so hard for me that I hate taking care of them. The chickens will be better off that way too in the long term.

 

[townchicks]

If they're not sitting in a draft, and you are ok with cleaning the poop off the shelf, just leave it as is. They will keep their feet warm on the shelf just as well as they would on a roost.

 

[Folly's place]

I had birds roosting on a shelf years ago, and hated it. Daily poop scooping, not my thing. If it's doable, fine, but the OP already said this isn't going well.
Mary

 

[Alaskan]

You could turn the shelf into a poop tray with shavings or PDZ, and put perches over the shelf... but that would be crazy high for when you had to clean it.

It is probably easier to block it off.

If you don't mind cleaning it... and it is just an issue of running through pine shavings.... I do agree that shavings would be warmer than linoleum (how cold does it get where you are?). Maybe an edge on the shelf to hold in the shavings.... and you could start getting shavings at a lumber yard (around here that is free if you self bag).

 

[Jenjens]

Thank you everyone for your replies!! I don't mind cleaning the shelf at all. I just don't want them to have cold feet in the winter. I live in Illinois and it does get very cold in the winter.

I actually like the linoleum because it is easy to clean and they are happy there. If I add pine shavings, I would most.likely have to change it out every day. I am a sucker for animals, so I think when it gets closer I will try the bedding, but not use a whole lot and see how that goes.