do chickens have to be taught to roost?

[centrarchid]

I am betting something other than the roost material was more important in regards to why a given roost was selected. Namely location or proximity to something else the birds like or wanted to avoid. From what I have seen the birds have no obvious preference to roost material, rather we do when it comes to material cost and effort required to make it stay in place.

 

[GC-Raptor]

A broom handle size dowel may be uncomfortable in my opinion. A 2"x 3" wide side up is what I used for roosts. They seem to like it. They are medium size, 5-6 lbs. A large breed may be better off with a 2"x 4" wide side up, from what I've read. GC

 

[PirateGirl]

I made a ramp up to my roost from the floor of the coop and they ran right up it to explore. Sometimes they would still seep huddled on the floor, but after a week or two they were always on the roost.

 

[Spartan22]

Hi,

I started anew this year with five chicks that I got in early April.  So, the girls are now about 13 weeks old. I keep them in an old shed, with a room I close them in at night that has two sets of roosts as well as nesting boxes.   I'm getting a bit concerned that they still haven't shown any desire to sleep on their roosts, instead huddling together on the floor.  

Is this an instinctive behavior that will develop on its own, or did they need older chickens around to show them it?

They will figure it out, as long as you have multiple ledges (ramp or ladder) they can hop up to get to the upper roosts that they prefer. I have multiple generations of hens & chicks, I normally put up a roost or two on their 2nd week few inches from the floor in the brooder and they learn to balance and use them. Some will roost by their 4-6th week and some learn a little bit later. I recently moved 10 wk old chicks w/ the big ones w/ chicken wire separation and with their own roosts (1-4' height). All of them just slept in one corner for weeks, last week they all decided to roost (perch on different hts).

On my first year with chickens, I had to physically put them on perches when it gets dark since they were filing up in a corner when I moved them to a newly constructed coop, some will freak out and jump out or fall off after I put them up. I said that was ridiculous, decided to put up multiple level of perches and they figured it out on their own when it gets dark w/ less commotions. It's my 4th year w/ chickens, much easier though I have few more chicks to integrate in couple of wks (chicken math hit big time this year)