How to train my chickens

[JJW2018]

So I have a flock of 17 hens and they were able to free range where I got them from but here at my house we have a lot of Hawks that just sit and wait for the chance to get a hen. So my question is how do I get my hens to sleep on the roost instead of the ground one hen sleeps in one of the nesting boxes. They have plenty of room and 2 roosting bars and they will still pile up on each other and sleep on the ground and I know that is bad and can cause the to become sick. I just got my flock healthy after having to get rid of 3 hens so I do not want to have to go through that again so please help!

 

[MrFluffyandGirls]

Is the roost in a coop? Is there enough room and ventilation? Is there windows in the coop where they can see to get on the roost? If all the answers are yes then I would wait until dark and physically put them on the roosting bars until they get the hang of it. They are creatures of habit so after a week or two they should go by themselves.
Were they caged or housed without a roost before you got them? Maybe they don't know to use the roost.

 

[aart]

So I have a flock of 17 hens and they were able to free range where I got them from but here at my house we have a lot of Hawks that just sit and wait for the chance to get a hen. So my question is how do I get my hens to sleep on the roost instead of the ground one hen sleeps in one of the nesting boxes. They have plenty of room and 2 roosting bars and they will still pile up on each other and sleep on the ground and I know that is bad and can cause the to become sick. I just got my flock healthy after having to get rid of 3 hens so I do not want to have to go through that again so please help!

How long have you had these birds?
How old are they, in weeks or months?
Please post pics of your coop and run, inside and out.

 

[JJW2018]

The coop usually has bedding but I just cleaned it out. I also let them out of the run while I am feeding or cleaning the coop and run but only if I am out there to watch them. At night time they all huddle up against the wall in there run or 1 will sleep in the nesting box. They rarely lay in the nesting box they usually lay on the floor of the run.

 

[JJW2018]

Is the roost in a coop? Is there enough room and ventilation? Is there windows in the coop where they can see to get on the roost? If all the answers are yes then I would wait until dark and physically put them on the roosting bars until they get the hang of it. They are creatures of habit so after a week or two they should go by themselves.
Were they caged or housed without a roost before you got them? Maybe they don't know to use the roost.

They were very over crowded where I got them they were pretty much houses in a barn they did have roost but there were so many birds there is no way they all would be able to fit on the roost. I do have plenty of ventilation I will attach a photo of the coop. I usually have bedding down however I took the photo right after cleaning the coop

 

[LaurenThompson]

I would raise the roost up - if the nesting box is higher (which is what it looks like), they will naturally roost there. They like to roost on the highest point they can...
Hope that helps, I just skimmed the thread...

 

[Syowell]

Can y

So I have a flock of 17 hens and they were able to free range where I got them from but here at my house we have a lot of Hawks that just sit and wait for the chance to get a hen. So my question is how do I get my hens to sleep on the roost instead of the ground one hen sleeps in one of the nesting boxes. They have plenty of room and 2 roosting bars and they will still pile up on each other and sleep on the ground and I know that is bad and can cause the to become sick. I just got my flock healthy after having to get rid of 3 hens so I do not want to have to go through that again so please help!
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Can you start with a smaller one? My husband built a perch close to the ground to start ours on, and I kept putting food on it to get them interested. It worked eventually. Then we built a bigger one a few weeks later, and again put food on it.

 

[JJW2018]

Thank you

 

[JJW2018]

How long have you had these birds?
How old are they, in weeks or months?
Please post pics of your coop and run, inside and out.

I have had them for about 3 to 4 weeks I am not sure how old they are when I bought them the lady just said they were laying already I do not even know what breed they are. I notice that I sometimes get some really big eggs and others are small.

 

[NatJ]

Those roosts look awfully skinny to me.

You could try putting in a wider board, or a closet rod, or even a thick branch, and see if they like it better.

One and a half to two inches wide is a good roost size according to some people. Some others insist it needs to be more than 3" wide. So probably something in that size range would be good to try.