Chickens won't use roosts

[SarahGfa]

I have 3 separate roosts in the coop, but the chickens will only use the one roost over the door. Two chickens keep getting pushed off that roost so they sleep in the nest boxes instead of going to the other roosts.
I think they don't like to sleep over a poop board, and they don't like to have a ladder next to them.

Should I add more roosts? where? here is a bird's eye view of the coop. Red circles show where they sleep now.

 

[Fluffs_flock]

What is the height of the roost?
Chickens like to sleep high, maybe make it longer so they don't push others off and higher?

 

[4yearsofchickens]

I have 11 chickens and two roosts. 10 of my chickens cram onto one roost to sleep. The other one sleeps in the window and refuses to sleep anywhere else lol. I gave up trying to fix it. If you need to have them sleep on a specific roost, remove the other ones. If one isn't long enough, is there a place to install one so that it's long enough for all the chickens? It seems like they like sleeping together so they can keep warmer, and when they're out of room, they find another warm spot to sleep, in your case, a nest box.

 

[4yearsofchickens]

Should I add more roosts? where? here is a bird's eye view of the coop. Red circles show where they sleep now.

You don't need to add more roosts. I would recommend taking out all of the ones except the one you want them to use. If some are getting pushed off, go out every night and put them on the roost.

 

[West Bend]

Yes, I agree with #2, 3 & 4. Make them wall to wall or connect 2 of them in the corner like an L shape. I don't think the poop board or the ladder is the issue. Can either of the other 2 be higher(even w/ the one they prefer)? Are they all the same size/ type of roosts? What if you remove the one over the door(height?) Make the other 2 L shaped with a poop board under it all (especially over nests)and attach the ladder to the board so they can walk around the others for a spot. Looks like if a bird was sitting near the ladder no one could get past. What is the distance between the roost & the board? Good luck with what you decide.

 

[SarahGfa]

What is the height of the roost?
Chickens like to sleep high, maybe make it longer so they don't push others off and higher?

They are all about 6' high. The roof is at 8' so it is hard to go much higher and still have head room.

 

[Fluffs_flock]

As long as it is the highest thing in there, I don't see why they are not using it.

 

[SarahGfa]

It seems like they like sleeping together so they can keep warmer, and when they're out of room, they find another warm spot to sleep, in your case, a nest box.

They don't like sleeping together. There are three "mini-flocks" of 3-5 birds. One group takes one corner, another group takes the other corner, and they chase the third group off the middle of the roost. I added the extra roosts because they can't get along nicely.

 

[4yearsofchickens]

They don't like sleeping together. There are three "mini-flocks" of 3-5 birds. One group takes one corner, another group takes the other corner, and they chase the third group off the middle of the roost. I added the extra roosts because they can't get along nicely.

I see. I would try blocking off the nest boxes then at night so they can't sleep in there.

 

[SarahGfa]

Are they all the same size/ type of roosts? What if you remove the one over the door(height?) Make the other 2 L shaped with a poop board under it all (especially over nests)and attach the ladder to the board so they can walk around the others for a spot. Looks like if a bird was sitting near the ladder no one could get past. What is the distance between the roost & the board? Good luck with what you decide.

I can't remove the one over the door. Distance between poop board and third roost is 18 inches. What do you mean by "L shaped"?