Chicks sleeping in a pile?

[RedDrgn]

Ours have always slept together in a lump no matter where they ended up dropping, so I'd say that it's normal.

 

[2hot2chicken]

mine are 7 months old and 4 months old this week and they are outside full time in coop and run and they still play king of the pile for their afternoon nap. Its always about who can squish in the tightest even if its 80+ outside. They also sleep very tight together almost piled up on their roost at night. But they sleep seperate. 3 BR on top roost and 3 Ameraucana onbottom roost. Its pretty funny

They have slept together but seperate for a few months now.

 

[Stoney22]

Can't remember who said it but that their girls don't roost they pile on the floor of the coop. Not to worry mine would always sleep on the floor then one night one new Hampshire red flew up then the next night here sister and a white leghorn flew up leaving my leghorn x EE. Cross by herself, this went on for a week then the EE cross flew up and roosted with the other three

 

[earnhardtlvr]

Quote:
LOL Rachy...they will! I put my 28 chicks out when they were 7-9 weeks old and I played chicken wrangler every day for about 4 days every evening to get them in the coop (we didn't shut them in the coop for the first few days...big mistake). Then they would go in the coop and make big chickie piles on the floor and sleep! I was scared to death that someone was gonna get smushed. I would make them unpile and 5 minutes later they would b back on the pile! It was like 80 degrees and they were fully feathered...but they eventually figured the roosts out and 2 poles that were in our converted smokehouse to chicken coop has become their favorite place! Silly chickens! Give them time. They will figure it out sooner or later! Good luck!

 

[JohnCT]

My 2 EE at 12 weeks are on the roost, the 3 9 week old Brahma's fight to see who can get lowest in the pile, pretty funny to watch.

 

[Wildflower_VA]

My six Australorps are 21 weeks old, have just started laying, and tonight I go to shut the coop and they are in a pile in the corner. I don't know how six full grown heavy breed chickens can pile up in such a small knot. Some nights they roost, but most nights they still do the puppy pile.

 

[Rachy]

Quote:
LOL Rachy...they will! I put my 28 chicks out when they were 7-9 weeks old and I played chicken wrangler every day for about 4 days every evening to get them in the coop (we didn't shut them in the coop for the first few days...big mistake). Then they would go in the coop and make big chickie piles on the floor and sleep! I was scared to death that someone was gonna get smushed. I would make them unpile and 5 minutes later they would b back on the pile! It was like 80 degrees and they were fully feathered...but they eventually figured the roosts out and 2 poles that were in our converted smokehouse to chicken coop has become their favorite place! Silly chickens! Give them time. They will figure it out sooner or later! Good luck!

Thanks, lol big chickie piles!

 

[brownysfp]

Our chicks ages range from two to six weeks; they sleep in a heap in a box in their coop. We're quite high up so it gets cool of a night even in summer. The adults sleep all huddled together in another coop: four rows of sleepy chickens on one side, two rows on the other. Hopefully the youngsters will grasp the roost idea before long; there's a small perch in the coop but it's not been used yet.

 

[LPOHHomestead]

Ours are 4 weeks old and they all snuggle into a nesting box each evening - all 13 of them. They're so jumbled up that last night I thought I was missing a little RIR pullet. Apparently, she was at the bottom of the pile or something. I even stirred them up looking for her and didn't see her. They will occasionally jump up on a roost and check it out, but they sleep in a little pile in that box each night.

 

[bertman]

Have no fear, they will figure out about the roost.

We had the same situation with our girls. It took them until they were 16 weeks old before they started UNpiling and went to the roost. And even that was gradual: first three did it, then a few days later everybody decided it was the cool thing to do. Now they all gather on the roost. No more pileup.