How old do chicks have to be befor they are able to roost?

[hollychicken]

I`m getting 5 chicks ( they are not getting mailed, thank goodness!!) this sunday and my great aunt told me that chicks have to be a certain age to roost so do they?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Able to roost and will roost are two different things. I've had a broody hen take her 2 week old chicks to the roosts, so they are able to roost that young. It was really warm weather so that played into it since she could not cover all of them on the roosts. I've had some broodies wait until 4 weeks old to take her chicks to the roosts. I'm not talking about perching and playing on perches during the day but actually spending the night on the roosts.

I have had brooder raised chicks start roosting as early as 5 weeks, but that is pretty unusual. Move average for my brooder raised chicks to start spending the night on the roosts is around 10 to 12 weeks, but occasionally some will wait even later.

I'm not sure exactly what your great aunt is talking about. She might be talking about them being old enough to roost without getting too cold, she may be talking about brooder raised or broody raised, or she may be talking about something else entirely. They are able to perch at an extremely young age, but they do need some age before they sleep on the roosts at night. But not a whole lot of age depending oin the weather.

 

[Delta2 23]

It's not going to hurt them if you place them on the roost at night at a few weeks old... that's what we did, because the brooder bedding would get pretty dirty during the night, and we didn't want them sleeping in that.
Younger than about 4 or 5 weeks we couldn't get them to stay on, they just flew off again and slept on the floor. So I suppose that would be when they begin to be comfortable with roosting.

 

[curiositykt]

Mine were exactly a week old yesterday and they had just started hopping up on on the practice roosts. So cute!

 

[kkowa]

My chicks are 5 days today on their 2 nd day I put a low roost in the corner of their brooder and they are already roosting on it 1 of them sleeps on it sometimes but I sugest that at about 3 days old put 1 in so their used to it and they will hop on and off all by themselfs

 

[ButchGood]

My 5 week old BO.'s and austra.'s have been living in the coop since they were 2 weeks old. They have been putting themselves up at night but they still sleep in a chick pile. They like to set on the roosts and nap durig the day, but not to sleep at night.

 

[shadust1]

Mine are being raised by a hen and when they were just a week old she was showing them how to sit in the tree right by there coop....so now at 6 weeks,when i was coming up the driveway i stopped and took a pic of 4 of them roosting way up in the tree...so adorable...at a couple weeks old ive found them sitting on the high roost but havent seen them roosting overnight there...they r actuall almost bigger then there mama..and i have pics of all 6 of them still laying underneath her...they dont know that they r getting too big for that..and mama lets them do what they want..lol...so...im thinking its all in how they r raised..what/how they learn...from experience i know that me raising chicks n a broody hen raising chicks is a huge difference...she wins!!(hard to say...lol..i thought i knew it all..lol)...

 

[Delta2 23]

Interesting to hear stories about chicks roosting so young! Mine have always ignored the roost I put in, besides to use it to escape from the brooder, until they were much older.

 

[willowbranchfarm]

I just put a roost in my chicks coop just so they could get used to roosting. But they roosted on it at about 5 weeks

 

[zengrrl]

My husband made me an amazing chicken ladder and I think he's hurt that they're not roosting on it yet. I told him they're only 8 weeks old and in another month or so when its winter and he won't want to build it they'll use it. Silly birds.