im confused ??

[kentucky jay]

i was under the impression that chickens would roost at night ...... i'm using an old shed for a coop , i put in 3 different roosting options for them , but they are gathering together on the ground in a cardboard box my daughter put in there for the silkies ..... i have 7 turkens and 2 silkies bunching together in a box !!!!!!! during the day i see them on the roosts but they wont get on them at night ?????? what am i doing wrong ??? before the box was in there they would just gather , in the same spot on the ground !!!!!! is it ok ? should i not worry?

 

[MamaChic21]

how high is the roosting bars ? I have silkies too and they don't like to roost for some reason but my other big hens and roosters roost at night.

 

[midget_farms]

age matters too - if they are very young (less than 6 months) the instinct to huddle under momma may still be there. I wouldn't worry about it - they will figure it out eventually.

 

[OrloffTom]

Some of mine roost and some of them don't. I think they pretty much all did until I put a heat lamp in there and now some sleep on the floor /shrugs.

 

[kentucky jay]

when i got them a month ago , i was told they were 6 months old...... now they are 7 months old ...i didnt think about the huddle together under mamma thing ....... my roosts are about 30 inches off the ground .....heck i saw one of my hens on a shelf 5 feet off the ground ........now i cant use that shelf , but it is pretty cool that she got up that high !!!!