General problems

[dandydoodle]

I am not sure what is going on in this picture. It looks kind of small. If that is the floor I see they might not use the roost because, it is not much higher then the floor.

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[Gargoyle]

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Originally I had a 4 foot long 1x1 bar much higher up, higher than the upper level nest box. Our previous chickens all spent the night up there. This batch never went up there, even when I had a ladder. Then I added a long 2x2 bar lower down that they could either roost on or use to jump up to the upper bar, they never used that. I then tried a 2x3 about 4 foot long, they didn't use that either. I tried some shorter traverse bars away from the heat, nada. I switched to this one two weeks ago since they spend every night on the floor right under where it is, close to the heat lamp. BTW, the lamp is on a timer, on a half hour, off a half hour through the night; any less and the water freezes up.

So I've tried a range of options and always tried to teach them to use the bar, given each option a couple weeks, none of the options work. This is the only one that the rooster ever goes on by himself. This one is about 30" long, I've managed to put three of them (we have four, a rooster and three pullets) on it at the same time and there was plenty of room.

 

[BamaSilkies]

I would suggest that if you are going to start out with chicks making a small roost to put the brooder with them. you could make one with multi levels and start out one inch from the bottom and slowly raise it as the begin to use it. I have Silkies and I only have one rooster that uses the 3 ft roost and one that use a one foot roost the rest make a pile on the floor or on the playpen or the the dog kennels I was using as nestboxes. I have some one month olds and 2 wk olds that I am going to make a roost for. These babies were hatched and being raised by moms so they still hide under her for now. But I going to make one and put it in there anyway as teaching tool and change my current roost (ladder type) and use wider boards for the rungs.

 

[Hiram]

I'm with Dandydoodle. I'm not sure what I'm looking at. It seem too small and cluttered. Also I used 2x2s at first but found(through advice on here) that a 2x6 worked. try that.

 

[Gargoyle]

This morning when I opened the coop (10 minutes after sunrise) the rooster was up on the roost, so he's starting to learn to use it. I'm also getting night time eggs- there was a warm one in a nesting box, yesterday there were two cold ones (so they could have laid them at 6 or 7 p.m., since it's dark here from 5 p.m. to 7 a.m.).

I think I can move that bar a few inches higher and make it longer. One thought- one of the three girls is rather splay legged and clumsy (I got them all at about 5 months old, so I couldn't do the band-aid thing). She never uses the outside roosts (some large branches in the run) but the other three do. Maybe they stay down on the floor to cuddle with her and keep her warm at night, since they all get along great together.

 

[Gargoyle]

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I gave them a new roost today. I notice they are comfortable with thick branches, so I found a long one, about 2" diameter, cut it to 42" long to fit the space. It's from our wood pile, dried out and clean.
I mounted it higher than the previous one, and took three of the birds (but not the clumsy one with the splay legs) and introduced them to it. Here's a lousy cell phone photo showing Goldie after I put her up there.

Anyway, when I put them all in the coop for the night, Brooster immediately hopped up there and stood proud. He only stayed there a minute or two, but still, that's a good sign.

 

[Hiram]

Yes that's a better picture. I'm glad it's working. I like the way you mounted it. It gives a natural feel to your coop.

 

[nhorrin]

I would still like to post some photos of my coop to get your ideas about the roosts and nests. As I said before I don't know how to post a picture and could use some help with the process. THANKS AGAIN!

 

[Gargoyle]

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If you have it on your computer, one way is:
In the menu bar at the top of this page, click "uploads", "select image to upload", then "browse" to find it on your computer, then submit, then copy the URL (the image address) from under the image when it appears on the right. Paste that into a post.

If it's somewhere on the web, use the Img button above the compose post window, and place the address between that. It will look something like this:
[1mg]http://www.wherepicteris.com/picturename.jpg[/1mg]

If you're doing it from a phone, I don't know how it's done.

Hope this helps.

 

[NanaLantana]

We've all had our issues with certain breeds, mixes, or bad habits from chickens. Here's the little bits of advice I'd give, since you asked:

1) for the size of your coop/run, don't have more than 6 hens.
2) get all the same breed - pick your favorite - chickens are prejudiced!
3) train them on what you want them to do. When they're big enough to roost, put them on the roost when it's dark, and they won't move again. No light, keep it dark at night. After a week or two of this hands-on training, they should do it themselves.
4) When they start talking about laying, before they actually do start, go out and pick them up and place them in the nest boxes. Hold the body down firmly for a few seconds, let up. They'll leave, but at least you showed them where to lay.
5) teach them to come when you call - I go outside and yell, "PEEP!" They come running, no exception. Shake a can with scratch, and they'll come too.
6) Just like children, when bad habits are noticed, nip it in the bud. YOU decide what you want, and how to get it.

Of course, this kind of training is not possible if you have wild chickens! If however, they're hand raised, and used to you handling them, it works great.