Help! Chicks sleeping on floor not on roost

henhousemom

In the Brooder
6 Years
Mar 16, 2013
10
0
22
I have 6 RSL, 5 weeks old, 99% feathered, live on the West side of Atlanta Ga and my chicks have a fully enclosed coop (no drafts) with run, it has been in the low 60 at night and they have been living outside full time now for 3 days. My problem is 3 chicks know to come in at night and 3 still havent figured it out and I have to heard and place them in the coop. We have a 15" roost and a taller one - I know they can get to both because I have seen them on them during the day, however they all pile on top of each other in one corner to sleep ( I cant believe they are cold at 60 degress) Is this normal? Shoud I put them on the roost myself? I just want to make sure they are ok - please advise.
 
Chicks rarely roost till at least 10 weeks. Some breeds take even longer.
Make sure the coop isn't too enclosed. Chickens need fresh air.
I don't worry about drafts any more. I've seen chickens opt for an outdoor roost all winter with a perfectly good coop to go into.
When I build coops now I leave 2 walls on opposite sides about 1/3 open. No respiratory issues because of the fresh air.
 
Thank you so much - we have about a 3 inch tall 5 feet long vent on opposite walls & we have 3 windows but we close them at night for now we will keep them open at the temp goes up
 
My last bunch slept on the floor in a heap for the longest time. The rest of the flock would roost, but they were piled up on the floor until almost 20 weeks of age. Then they suddenly decided to join the rest. Now everyone roosts as we would expect.

Chris
 
I am so glad to have this site to get my questions answered. Last night I noticed all my pullets were piled up in a corner of their coop, but they roost during the day. I thought they were afraid of something. Their coop is pretty well predator proofed, but I was worried about maybe a snake. Now I know they were acting perfectly normal. I'm not usually out around the coop later than about 4 or 5 in the evening and last night it was around 8 so it was their bedtime. Thank you everyone.

Maggie
 
Follow up from last post, my girls have decided to start roosting! They are also starting to cluck instead of peep. They are growing up and more fun every day. They love apples, or really anything I give them for a treat. I sit down and that is their cue to come running.
 
All I have to do is walk near my chickens and they come running. Mine love dried bread, lettuce, and tomatoes. I haven't tried apples yet. My brother in law said to try them on raisins....cant wait to see what the do when I give them some.
 
Follow up from last post, my girls have decided to start roosting! They are also starting to cluck instead of peep. They are growing up and more fun every day. They love apples, or really anything I give them for a treat. I sit down and that is their cue to come running.
Wonderful! Thanks for the update! I love when my girls come running to me-is there anything funnier that a chicken running?
 

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