Is my hen insane?

[SueT]

I divided my main roost with a piece of paneling . Otherwise #1 hen wouldn't let anyone else on it. Later I made a second divider. Now it holds 3, peacefully.

 

[Todd the chicken guy]

As winter is fast approaching here in new England, 1 hen repeatedly stays on one side of the roost while the 4 other hens huddle together on the other side. I am hoping that once it dives below 0 all the hens will just go in the hen house but for now it's still like 28 degrees out and I'm afraid the one all alone on the one side will get frostbitten and die. Any advice?[/QUOTE I have no advice but I did read some good articles on this very subject and it sounds to me that chickens are extremely hardy chitters and they no how to keep warm... Don’t spoil them was the name of the article. I’m in Reno NV in the foot hills of the Sierra mountains and it gets cold. She knows how to keep herself warm .. it is 29 degrees out in Reno right now and my chickens are super happy so I’m going to try not to worry about my beauties I’m sure yours will be fine.. Happy chickening..

 

[chickengeorgeto]

If you want to understand your chickens better then sit quietly and watch all the drama as your flock puts itself to bed. If you tend to be the shrinking violet kind of chicken keeper then tranquilizers might be in order.

 

[Gramma Chick]

I divided my main roost with a piece of paneling . Otherwise #1 hen wouldn't let anyone else on it. Later I made a second divider. Now it holds 3, peacefully.
View attachment 1198170

Cool ..is the lower hen a different color than the rest of the hens ?
As chickens also separate by color ..if you get another one like her she will have a buddy

 

[SueT]

Cool ..is the lower hen a different color than the rest of the hens ?
As chickens also separate by color ..if you get another one like her she will have a buddy

I have all different colors, breeds, sizes....maybe because of that, what I'm seeing is that they prefer those who are their own age, the ones they were raised with. But after a while that distinction begins to blur. I have several roost choices all around the coop, for 9 chickens, and only that primo location in front of the window was disputed. They seem to appreciate the dividers.

 

[aart]

1 hen repeatedly stays on one side of the roost while the 4 other hens huddle together on the other side.

On the other 'end' of the long roost from the others?
How old are your birds?
If older than a year the one may be molting.

One bird being farther away from the others will not cause it to get frostbite,
or rather,
being right next to the other birds will not preclude it from getting frostbite.