Hen Snuggling!

[Rese78]

Hi all, I am very new to this site and to raising hens. (3 weeks in) I have 2 bantam Leghorns 13 weeks old and 2 bantam Wyandotte’s 18 weeks old. They were introduced only a few days apart, had the usual hen pecking (nothing too drastic). At first the Leghorns stayed together and the Wyandotte’s stayed together and didn’t really mingle....
Tonight I checked their coop and all 4 are completely snuggled together....as cute as it is and as happy as I am that they all get along, they are snuggled in one of the nesting boxes. (We are yet to have our first eggs)
will they eventually use their sleeping perches? Or is there some way I can encourage them?

 

[50-45-1]

Hi, and welcome!
Every night take them from the nest box and put them on the roost. Is the roost higher than the nest boxes?
You might have to block off the nest box until they are closer to laying age.
It sounds like a lovely group of chickens.
Welcome to the backyard!

 

[Rick M]

Hello ams welcome to BYC

 

[Rese78]

Hi, and welcome!
Every night take them from the nest box and put them on the roost. Is the roost higher than the nest boxes?
You might have to block off the nest box until they are closer to laying age.
It sounds like a lovely group of chickens.
Welcome to the backyard!

Thanks for that, I had to raise the roost! The nesting boxes were higher....I will see how that goes and move them each night if needed.
Thanks again

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC!!

Funny thing, my chickens did the EXACT same thing! The first week or so in the coop they huddled together and paid no attention to the roosts. I didn't put them on the roosts each evening either; as they matured they figured it out, as I'm sure yours will too.

 

[Capoken]

I had a similar problem. I let them sleep in the boxes at first and they got used to it. I blocked off the nesting boxes for a few weeks. When I removed them - they STILL tried to sleep in the nest boxes. So then I would put the block in at night and take it out in the morning. And raising the roosting poles did not stop the behavior. However, after several weeks of blocking the boxes at night, and the fact that 2 of 4 have started laying, I no longer find them trying to go into the boxes at night. They are lined up on the poles (some on the low poles, some on the high) and I no longer find poo in the nesting boxes in the morning. So I would suggest blocking the boxes full time until 18 weeks or so, and then just block them at night until you find your chickens on the poles, and not in the boxes, when putting them to bed.