Nicoliosis5
In the Brooder
Good morning everyone!
My chickens are not sleeping on their roost at night. I know this is not a huge deal but am wondering if something is wrong.
They have 2 roosts in the coop. Made of straight maple branches, about as wide around as a baseball. About 2' - 2.5' off the floor. They are just over 8 weeks old and have been in the coop & run for 3 weeks. I know they can get up that high as they get some serious air when they're playing in the run.
At first, when it would start to get dark, they would all pile up under/around the feeder. I put a block underneath the feeder because they would pile up so thick I worried that one would suffocate under there!
Since that area is now unavailable, they all TRY to pile up in the chicken doorway(it's about 14" across and they are getting so big now that really only 2-3 can fit in the doorway and the rest of them pile up right behind.) So every night I have to pick them all up and nudge them back into the coop all the way so I can shut their door.
Yesterday afternoon I picked up 3 or 4 of them and gently placed them on the roost. I even gave a couple meal worms and placed a couple of those on the roosts as well to give them incentive to get up there.
However, again last night, they were piled in the doorway. I nudged them all inside as usual, but judging by the locations of the poops and scuffled bedding, they slept right up against the door again and not on the roosts.
Is something wrong with the coop or the roosts that makes them not want to be up there or are they just too young/small/can't figure it out yet?
Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance
)
Nicole
My chickens are not sleeping on their roost at night. I know this is not a huge deal but am wondering if something is wrong.
They have 2 roosts in the coop. Made of straight maple branches, about as wide around as a baseball. About 2' - 2.5' off the floor. They are just over 8 weeks old and have been in the coop & run for 3 weeks. I know they can get up that high as they get some serious air when they're playing in the run.
At first, when it would start to get dark, they would all pile up under/around the feeder. I put a block underneath the feeder because they would pile up so thick I worried that one would suffocate under there!
Since that area is now unavailable, they all TRY to pile up in the chicken doorway(it's about 14" across and they are getting so big now that really only 2-3 can fit in the doorway and the rest of them pile up right behind.) So every night I have to pick them all up and nudge them back into the coop all the way so I can shut their door.
Yesterday afternoon I picked up 3 or 4 of them and gently placed them on the roost. I even gave a couple meal worms and placed a couple of those on the roosts as well to give them incentive to get up there.
However, again last night, they were piled in the doorway. I nudged them all inside as usual, but judging by the locations of the poops and scuffled bedding, they slept right up against the door again and not on the roosts.
Is something wrong with the coop or the roosts that makes them not want to be up there or are they just too young/small/can't figure it out yet?
Any advice is greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance
)Nicole
