My chicks are 9 weeks old now. They are not roosting at night. They lay in a pile by the door. They know how to roost because I have seen them on the roosts in the morning if I don't get let them out early enough. I checked on them last night before bed and they were still on the ground. My sister told me to put them on the roosts & they will slowly catch on. Is this something that I should do, or should I let them figure it out for themselves?
I'm kinda new at this, so take my advice with a grain of salt. How long have your babies been in the coop? I locked mine in the coop for the first two days (only let them out for a few minutes each day) so that they knew where home was and were able to get comfortable in their new space. They are almost nine weeks old and roost every night I've heard that sometimes, it just takes them awhile to figure things out. I bet that if you keep putting them on the roost they will eventually get it. Good luck!
What kind of chicks do you have? I raised a mixed group of purebreds and the heavier bodied Cochins took a lot longer to roost than the Welsummers, Easter Eggers and Ameraucanas. I don't think mine really got off the ground completely until they were about 3 months old. I think they prefered the security of a cuddly pile.Now the Wellies roost in the rafters
You'll get a couple of different answers, and mine is one of the "don't do anything about it" types. I've never gone into the coop to pick up chickens and put 'em on the roost at night. Ever. All mine eventually figured it out on their own. I think it has a lot to do with developing confidence, balance, and coordination. After all, they gotta perch there IN THEIR SLEEP. First mine visited the coop during the day and practiced perching on the roost Like Big Chickens. Looking around, hunching down, moving sideways on the roost, checking it all out. But they slept together on the floor for a while anyway, even after they started the daytime roost practice. Eventually, they have all roosted at night. Even the bantam cochin, and my fluffy Buffy BO.
Well, I'm a meddler. When I moved my six chicks into the coop (partitioned off from the six adults), and age six weeks, they slept on the floor for the first few nights. Then one night I put them all up on the perch. They stayed and slept there, but needed a little help for another couple nights before they had the idea. If they didn't want to sleep up there, I imagine they would have hopped back down and continued to sleep in their chickie pile. I suggest you try putting them on the perch after they go inside for the night and see what happens.
No worries, just give them some time, some will roost sooner then later.... before yu know it they'll all be up there , vying for a spot!!!
Thanks for all of the input. My little BO's are roosting in the yard during the day so I am sure it is a matter of time that they do it in the coop too. Thanks again.
