Do chickens HAVE to roost for health reasons? Mine are pile sleepers!

[centrarchid]

I have 4 Orpingtons, 5 wyandottes, 2 light brahamas & 2 guinneas. At night, all are roosting & sleeping except the brahamas (also the youngest. They are 3 months old, the rest are 6 months to 1 year old). I never see the brahamas sleep at all. They are always walking around , making little noises, pecking at food, drinking water. There is no light except the stars from the windows & my flashlight. Is this normal for brahamas?

Just after dark, check their crops to see how full they. Mine do not roost tight when hungry if roost also in a location that tends to get dark to fast or has light pollution coming from a power pole or building.

Show a picture of roost area for young birds as well as the older birds. Insight might be provided by those images.

 

[bekabat]

I'm so glad someone asked this as I was wondering the very same thing. Our pullets are around the 10 week mark and we've only had them for 2 weeks...I'm finding it completely adorable that they all sleep in a bunch on what will become the nesting area (once they start laying) but can see that this really will be a problem with the droppings and confusion between sleeping and laying in the same area. The roosts are not too high because this is where they like the hang out during their rest time in the day so I know they can sit there just fine. So, I guess my question is, should I start going in and moving them once it's dark? Will this freak them out at all? Or will the roosting at night kick in as they get a bit older without my help?

 

[Karasaba]

I have Isa brown chickens who lay eggs daily. One chook got egg bound and had to be put down I was told it was because they were roosting in the nesting box instead of the roost I provided which the just wouldn't go on. The explanation was that they poop in the box and get an infection it happens very quickly and you only notice when they become lethargic. Since then I go out every night and move the girls to the roost once they have gone to bed and block the access to the nesting boxes from the roost. Luckily I have a second access to the nesting boxes from outside the house so when they wake up they can climb down from the roost go out then up to the nesting boxes to lay. The farmer said they would quickly learn to roost and I am here to tell you that they are very very slow to learn!

 

[RJH]

Hi everyone

We have a flock of a mix of breeds and we have a walk in coop for them inside very high fences. They have a roost area that has 2x1 with rounded edges (we heard that that was the best size and most comfortable shape for their feet) but none of them like to roost on there. They prefer to sleep in a pile on the floor together. And they have done for over a year now. It's summer here, so they can't be huddled together because it's cold. We have even upgraded coops to a different well researched roost design a few months ago and they STILL don't like to roost! My husband and i were just discussing that if they HAVE to roost, we will rip out the current roost and try ANOTHER design?!?

I've read on here that they like to sleep up high instinctively, but do they have to sleep on a roost because of health reasons? Because roosting is good for their feet??? ie: should i ''train'' them to sleep on the roost or just let them be? They are a mix of ages, we brought as either hens or pullets. Actually, the Plymouth Rock USED to roost but now she has joined the pile

We tried training them once, but not all the chickens like to be picked up so its really hard to place all of them on the roost. So we gave up.

Any advice?

My 4 Red Sextons are about 9 months old. They have a 4 rung ladder (18" wide, made of 2 x 4's) for a roost, a 4x4 they could all sit on at 5' above the ground (the previous flock fave) and an upstairs with a roost in the roof gable. I've tried putting them on the different roosts but they won't stay. Since I got them, they have continued to huddle in the corner of their house on the dirt floor where I keep a big pile of hay. They continue to sleep on the big pile of hay in the corner. Many nights, they sit outside the door and go to sleep until I walk out and lead them in. Now it is hot here in West Texas so maybe it's all just due to the heat to this point but I am relieved someone else is trying to figure out the same issue I am. If it is heat, then it seems they wouldn't huddle together anywhere. Curious behavior...and I'm not finding any pests of note.