Chicks not roosting at night

[middle TN Nancy]

I have a question about chick roosting behaviors at night. My chicks are 5 weeks old and have been in the coop since they were 5 days old. I just recently removed the brooder from the coop and have noticed that even though they might be sitting on the roost in the morning before I open their pop door to the run, at night they group up to sleep in a dark corner. The roost runs perpendicular to a wall of the coop that is basically all hardware cloth, separating it from the run. Could it be that they feel exposed up on the roost with the open-feeling wall of wire next to it? I have read elsewhere on BYC that chickens like to roost by a window. Or are they just still so young that they don’t roost at night yet? Or could it be the security light on my house that shines into the roost end of the coop, and they want to be in the dark? I can put up a shutter or something, if y’all think that’s the case. But in July in TN it’s nice to have cool fresh air at night, so I kind of hate to shut off any air flow.

 

[Willow2253]

They’re probably still learning to roost. They can figure it out in their own, but if you want to encourage them to roost you can put them on the roost at night. They’re still pretty young and they’re used to sleeping on the ground, they’ll get the hang of it eventually.

 

[Ryguy3684]

X2. Mine didn't start sleeping on the roost until 7 weeks.

 

[middle TN Nancy]

OK thanks guys. I’ll just wait and give them time.