Ex-battery hens perching and flying

[Chickenman MAN]

I recently made an a-frame perch with three perches about 3 inches, 1 foot and 2 foot off the ground... they haven’t used it at all yet and have only walked over the lowest one... do you think they will ever use it? My hens seem peculiar in the way that they haven’t jumped over their 4-5 foot fence yet and haven’t jumped on the 3 foot high feed cover or the 2 foot water container... is in this normal? I thought hens loved perching and found it easy to get on top of these sorts of heights... is it just because they are ex bats? (I haven’t seen any attempt it... so I doubt it is because of the lack of wing feathers) Should I encourage this sort of behaviour? If so, how?

 

[CluckerFamily]

I'm wondering if it is because they are ex-battered chickens. I would check their feet to make sure there was no sore that would hurt when they roost. I would also put them on the roosts at night to show them what to do.

 

[Chicalina]

The 3 inch high roost is a waste of time. It will only ever be a tripping hazard.

They haven't roosted their whole lives and don't know how to do it. You will need to teach them. After dark, lift them from wherever they are sleeping onto the perches. Do it every night until they get the idea.

How many hens do you have and how long have you had them?

Great typo BTW @CluckerFamily

 

[humblehillsfarm]

They might start to use it. Like pullets, you can try manually putting them in the perch each night after dark. It helps if there’s another trained flock to set an example, but isn’t necessarily. They will start to act like “normal” chickens more and more!

 

[aart]

they are ex-battered chickens

Not sure if this was a typo, but it cracked me up!!

 

[Chickenman MAN]

The 3 inch high roost is a waste of time. It will only ever be a tripping hazard.

They haven't roosted their whole lives and don't know how to do it. You will need to teach them. After dark, lift them from wherever they are sleeping onto the
perches. Do it every night until they get
the idea.

How many hens do you have and how long have you had them?
I think you misread! Or maybe I wasn’t clear.. all of them have roosted in the coop but two of them often sleep in the nesting boxes... I will try lifting them up. What I meant was we made one for them in their run and so far they havent used it. I have 4 choose and have had them for 1.5 months ish....

Great typo BTW @CluckerFamily

 

[Chickenman MAN]

They might start to use it. Like pullets, you can try manually putting them in the perch each night after dark. It helps if there’s another trained flock to set an example, but isn’t necessarily. They will start to act like “normal” chickens more and more!

I think you misread! Or maybe I wasn’t clear.. all of them have roosted in the coop but two of them often sleep in the nesting boxes... I will try lifting them up. What I meant was we made one for them in their run and so far they havent used it. I have 4 choose and have had them for 1.5 months ish....

 

[CluckerFamily]

Not sure if this was a typo, but it cracked me up!!

It was a typo... cellphones can drive me crazy sometimes.

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I think you misread! Or maybe I wasn’t clear.. all of them have roosted in the coop but two of them often sleep in the nesting boxes... I will try lifting them up. What I meant was we made one for them in their run and so far they havent used it. I have 4 choose and have had them for 1.5 months ish....

Ohhhhh yeah in my defense I had been awake for like ten minutes when I read your thread. Gotta get my fill of BYC with my morning joe. Rereading your post though, I don’t think you mentioned these roosts were outside.

As for the nesting boxes, I’ve read you can put something large, like milk jugs, in the boxes at night to discourage that behavior.

 

[Chickenman MAN]

Ohhhhh yeah in my defense I had been awake for like ten minutes when I read your thread. Gotta get my fill of BYC with my morning joe. Rereading your post though, I don’t think you mentioned these roosts were outside.

As for the nesting boxes, I’ve read you can put something large, like milk jugs, in the boxes at night to discourage that behavior.

Yeah... I will try that. I just want to know if there is any way to get them behaving more 'normal'! As I spent a long time on that outdoor perch lol. They seem more interested in doing.. well... scratching,and feeding, and going in this black water container I put in the run...