Chicks on nesting bars

[iam4hymn]

My 14 week chicks have suddenly started hanging out on the nesting bars. When I see them on it at night I move them to the roosting bars, but they like to hang out there in the day, too. I can't live in the coop, so is it ok if they hang out there rather than the roost?

 

[sunflour]

They do look like they love the nesting bars. I would see no problem, letting them rooster there, better than IN the nests.

But wonder what is different in location or height of the roosts you want them to use.

 

[iam4hymn]

Here is the roost right next to the nesting boxes. They could go even higher if they wanted to hang out on the roost. Crazy chickens!

 

[sunflour]

Could you do a pic showing both the nests and the roost ladder in one photo? Comparing them side by side likely will show why they prefer the roosts attached to the nests.

 

[aart]

Good questions....also wonder how many other older birds there are in the flock.

That top roost on the 'ladder' may be too close to the wall to be used.

 

[sunflour]

aart makes a good point.

To me comparing the 2 photos looks like the ladder roost offers no difference in height to those on the nests. And thought a single photo would show that.

You may consider reconfiguring both. Use a landing attached directly to the front of the nest boxes - they wouldn't be able to hang out and roost, just jump to enter and exit nests. And improve the ladder - the minimum is to stagger the steps 1 foot up and 1 foot apart, leaving at least 1 foot ( 18 inches is better ) from the wall.

 

[Mutt Farm]

Good questions....also wonder how many other older birds there are in the flock.

That top roost on the 'ladder' may be too close to the wall to be used.

^^^ X2

aart makes a good point.

To me comparing the 2 photos looks like the ladder roost offers no difference in height to those on the nests. And thought a single photo would show that.

You may consider reconfiguring both. Use a landing attached directly to the front of the nest boxes - they wouldn't be able to hang out and roost, just jump to enter and exit nests. And improve the ladder - the minimum is to stagger the steps 1 foot up and 1 foot apart, leaving at least 1 foot ( 18 inches is better ) from the wall.

^^^ X2 Good questions! How many total birds? How many older? I built an "awesome" roosting ladder. Top perch was WAY too close to the wall.

I re-did it. Then, it got crowded. Docile/younger birds were getting kicked off .

I put 2 the same height, 2 ft apart, 2ft from the wall. all is well. If there are no laying hens, is it possible to block the nesting bars/nests for a few weeks?

 

[iam4hymn]

Here is a picture I took in the dark tonight of both the roost and the nesting boxes next to each other. Tonight there was only one on the nesting box bar, but normally there are 2 or 3 of them. This is all of them, there are 11 total.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My Bantam chickens do this too, I think those lower on the pecking order are trying to stay away from the dominant ones.

 

[sunflour]

Here is a picture I took in the dark tonight of both the roost and the nesting boxes next to each other. Tonight there was only one on the nesting box bar, but normally there are 2 or 3 of them. This is all of them, there are 11 total.

Thanks for the pic, quality is really quite good for a night time photo session

"The Writing on the Wall" suggests they have mostly been using the real roosts. Bet the one still on the nest roost ranks #11 on the pecking order

. IMO I would not be concerned about only a couple deciding to sleep on the nest roosts. They may be being bumped out of the other location. And bet none want to sleep on the bottom roost.

If you have room to move the roosts away from the wall so the top roost is 18 inches away from the wall , then you'll see less poop on the wall and easier cleaning down the road. You'll still get some wall scattered, but only minor amounts.

The ladder type is usually needed when space is tight. Your coop appears to have plenty of space to consider a change? Equal height works best to a avoid conflicts for roost position. But even with those, there are always the more coveted positions. If the arrangement would allow equal height roosts there will be less conflicts at bedtime.