chicks sleeping in nesting box and not on roost! Tips Please!

[trufadog]

Tips, please! We moved our eight baby chicks (7 wks old) from the wool hen inside the dog crate (inside the run) to the coop where the big girl, Chicken Little sleeps. They have been sleeping behind the curtains in one of the nesting boxes. I have shown them the roosting bars and made them a low bar that is just a few inches off of the floor of the coop. I even tried shining a light on the high up roosting bars, but when two of them went up there, Chicken Little got mad at them and tried to peck them if they went on the highest bar. I think CL would have been okay if they stayed on the lower bar (still high up in the coop). Now I am not sure how to get them to sleep on a roosting bar. We didn't have a roost in the crate with them, but they did have "curtains" to sleep behind in the wool hen.
Any ideas? Thank you! (pic shows the size difference)

 

[Golden Brahma 64]

Tips, please! We moved our eight baby chicks (7 wks old) from the wool hen inside the dog crate (inside the run) to the coop where the big girl, Chicken Little sleeps. They have been sleeping behind the curtains in one of the nesting boxes. I have shown them the roosting bars and made them a low bar that is just a few inches off of the floor of the coop. I even tried shining a light on the high up roosting bars, but when two of them went up there, Chicken Little got mad at them and tried to peck them if they went on the highest bar. I think CL would have been okay if they stayed on the lower bar (still high up in the coop). Now I am not sure how to get them to sleep on a roosting bar. We didn't have a roost in the crate with them, but they did have "curtains" to sleep behind in the wool hen.
Any ideas? Thank you! (pic shows the size difference)

You have other hens in there with them ? “Chicken little” ? Maybe that’s what’s keeping them from trying out the roosts

 

[rosemarythyme]

A photo of the interior of the coop would help so we can see how the roosts and the coop are oriented and spaced.

Otherwise, I would block off all nestboxes at night, and manually put the chicks on a roost bar away from the existing older bird.

 

[trufadog]

OH my! You will never believe this. This is what I tried: During the day, yesterday, I put two of the Dominiques on the roosting bar. They cried and jumped off within a few seconds. Then when I went in last night, they were all up on the right side of both roosts and Chicken Little was on the left side. I think they might have done this another night because there was baby sized poop in the poop hammock when I cleaned it yesterday morning. I feel very proud that they finally figured it out. Thank you for your support, everybody!

 

[trufadog]

Here is the picture that I took of the chicks with Chicken LIttle. The first night, CL was all the way to the left and all the babies were squeezed on the right. Now, they have all taken the top bar and they are all spread out!

 

[MissChick@dee]

Close off your egg boxes at night. Use what’s ever around. A board,wire, the top of a tote. You need to keep them out. It’s a hard habit to break as they get older. Poop on eggs....ew ew yuck!
Not healthy either as the shells are porous. They will figure it out once access is denied. Perhaps a lower Perch for now while they are young.

 

[jolly wattles]

Make sure their roosts are higher than the nesting boxes but still easily reachable.