Is there a certain way chickens like to roost that doesn’t match my coop?

[demonic]

They will always roost at he highest point so make the roost highest. Put doors or gates on any shelves that are higher.

How old are the ones that don’t use the roosts? Very young pullets will sleep on the floor. As they mature a few weeks more they start noticing the roost is more desirable. They’ll roost eventually.

They all don’t sleep on the roosts, but the ones I mentioned that I can sometimes see jumping on the roosts are 10 months old and have laid their first egg months ago. The ones who I never see on the roosts and sleep together on the shelves are a little over 1 year old.

 

[gtaus]

Just to agree with other comments, IMHO, your roost bars are too close to the wall, too close to each other in the tier, and not high enough compared to the nesting boxes and shelf.

Chickens prefer the highest roost possible for the night, and it appears to me that both your nesting box and the shelf are actually higher than your roost bars. The roost bar should have about 12 inches of clearance between the wall, because the chickens will want to turn around on the roost bar and it appears that your roost bars are too close to the wall to make them feel comfortable. There is nothing wrong with having different levels of the roost bars, but, you still need to have at least 12 inches separation between the bars. If not, the chickens on the lower bars are going to be full of poop from the chickens above them.

I have found success using a 2X4 laid flat and going from one side of the coop to the other. All 10 of my chickens fit on the highest roost bar so there is no fighting for the "best" perch. I have one roost bar at about 24 inches and the main roost bar at 48 inches off the ground. They use the lower bar to jump up to the higher bar.

Expect that your chicken poo is going to accumulate under the roost bar. So don't put it over your nest box or shelf unless you have a way to catch the nightly poo.

Final thought, I would suggest putting a board at an angle over your nesting box and shelf so the chickens cannot roost there at all. It looks to me that your tops of the nest box and shelf are flat, which invites the chickens to roost there.

After you give it some thought, I think a few simple changes will really improve your setup and your chickens will be using the roost as you intended. Looks like you have a very nice setup for your chickens and a few minor tweaks should get you where you want it to be.

 

[demonic]

Just to agree with other comments, IMHO, your roost bars are too close to the wall, too close to each other in the tier, and not high enough compared to the nesting boxes and shelf.

Chickens prefer the highest roost possible for the night, and it appears to me that both your nesting box and the shelf are actually higher than your roost bars. The roost bar should have about 12 inches of clearance between the wall, because the chickens will want to turn around on the roost bar and it appears that your roost bars are too close to the wall to make them feel comfortable. There is nothing wrong with having different levels of the roost bars, but, you still need to have at least 12 inches separation between the bars. If not, the chickens on the lower bars are going to be full of poop from the chickens above them.

I have found success using a 2X4 laid flat and going from one side of the coop to the other. All 10 of my chickens fit on the highest roost bar so there is no fighting for the "best" perch. I have one roost bar at about 24 inches and the main roost bar at 48 inches off the ground. They use the lower bar to jump up to the higher bar.

Expect that your chicken poo is going to accumulate under the roost bar. So don't put it over your nest box or shelf unless you have a way to catch the nightly poo.

Final thought, I would suggest putting a board at an angle over your nesting box and shelf so the chickens cannot roost there at all. It looks to me that your tops of the nest box and shelf are flat, which invites the chickens to roost there.

After you give it some thought, I think a few simple changes will really improve your setup and your chickens will be using the roost as you intended. Looks like you have a very nice setup for your chickens and a few minor tweaks should get you where you want it to be.

Hm that makes more sense.

Under the Roosting bars we put sand, because we know chickens poop the most in their sleep. I will probably block off that top shelf for now as we don’t use it at the moment. But about the 12 inches for clearance, I’ve seen the chickens sleep on the stairs of the nesting boxes Instead of the roosting bar. That space is way smaller than the space we have provided for them at night though, so why would they prefer to sleep there then the bars? I’ve also seen them sleep on the ledge of the nesting boxes which again is smaller and lower than the space provided with the bars. Also my hens are easter eggers so they are very small, I thought it would be fine as the roosting bars are long. I’ll do what you say with putting an angle board above the nesting boxes. We have some hardwire above the shelves so they can’t get there

 

[gtaus]

But about the 12 inches for clearance, I’ve seen the chickens sleep on the stairs of the nesting boxes Instead of the roosting bar. That space is way smaller than the space we have provided for them at night though, so why would they prefer to sleep there then the bars?

How old are your chickens? I know when I first brought my 8 week old chicks out to the big coop, most slept on the coop floor. After a few days, some started sleeping on the lower roost at 24 inches. Then a few started sleeping on the upper roost bar at 48 inches and all the others were on the roost at 24 inches off the floor. About a week later, all the chickens were sleeping on the upper roost bar. It was an evolutionary process.

However, they had no alternatives to their roost bars. I noticed that you have steps up to your nest boxes. I only have a perch on the nest box where the chickens can jump up on and then go into the nest box. But the nest box perch is not comfortable enough to sleep on. My nest boxes are 12 inches off the floor, and they don't need any stairs to get to the nest boxes. They just jump up to the perch, go into the box to lay their eggs, and then jump back down into the coop.

I suspect if you have young chicks, then they are just starting to get the idea of roosting on a bar at night, and the steps up to the nest boxes are easy to reach. But, I don't think you want to let them use those steps as a roost, because you might end up having chickens sleeping in the nest boxes at night - and pooping in the nest boxes at night. I would get rid of those steps up to the nest boxes and replace them with a jumping perch. But maybe other people have a different idea. My idea was to eliminate all possible roosts except the bars I wanted them to use. Hence, I have an angled board above my nest boxes so they cannot sleep on top of the boxes.

Also my hens are easter eggers so they are very small

Interesting. I only have one "Easter Egger", an Ameraucana, and that is just as big as any of my other hens. I am not familiar with small "Easter Eggers" but know that many different breed mixes can be thrown into the definition of Easter Egger.

Anyway, like I said, it looks like you have a very nice setup for your chickens and I hope some of the suggestions that I and others have offered will get you to the place where you want. My suggestions are just based on what has worked for me, but I don't pretend that others may be just as successful with other approaches.

Whatever you decide to do, I hope you post your results and tell us what worked for your chickens. Love to see some pictures of your birds on the roost when you get them trained.

 

[demonic]

How old are your chickens? I know when I first brought my 8 week old chicks out to the big coop, most slept on the coop floor. After a few days, some started sleeping on the lower roost at 24 inches. Then a few started sleeping on the upper roost bar at 48 inches and all the others were on the roost at 24 inches off the floor. About a week later, all the chickens were sleeping on the upper roost bar. It was an evolutionary process.

However, they had no alternatives to their roost bars. I noticed that you have steps up to your nest boxes. I only have a perch on the nest box where the chickens can jump up on and then go into the nest box. But the nest box perch is not comfortable enough to sleep on. My nest boxes are 12 inches off the floor, and they don't need any stairs to get to the nest boxes. They just jump up to the perch, go into the box to lay their eggs, and then jump back down into the coop.

I suspect if you have young chicks, then they are just starting to get the idea of roosting on a bar at night, and the steps up to the nest boxes are easy to reach. But, I don't think you want to let them use those steps as a roost, because you might end up having chickens sleeping in the nest boxes at night - and pooping in the nest boxes at night. I would get rid of those steps up to the nest boxes and replace them with a jumping perch. But maybe other people have a different idea. My idea was to eliminate all possible roosts except the bars I wanted them to use. Hence, I have an angled board above my nest boxes so they cannot sleep on top of the boxes.



Interesting. I only have one "Easter Egger", an Ameraucana, and that is just as big as any of my other hens. I am not familiar with small "Easter Eggers" but know that many different breed mixes can be thrown into the definition of Easter Egger.

Anyway, like I said, it looks like you have a very nice setup for your chickens and I hope some of the suggestions that I and others have offered will get you to the place where you want. My suggestions are just based on what has worked for me, but I don't pretend that others may be just as successful with other approaches.

Whatever you decide to do, I hope you post your results and tell us what worked for your chickens. Love to see some pictures of your birds on the roost when you get them trained.

They’re all around 1 year old. I don’t have any purebred Ameracuanas, only Easter eggers which are mixed breeds meaning there size can vary so I don’t really know the size of ameracaunas. My easter eggers are basically the same size since they were like 4 months old. But thank you for your suggestions, I will definitely try some of them out. In the end it doesn’t really matter if they sleep on the bars or not, was just curious to what was causing them to shift away from the bars. I’ll definitely update with pictures of them on the bars if they eventually get there

 

[aart]

Dont want to block the nesting boxes though as I don’t wake up early enough to open it in the morning before my hens lay their eggs

I block my nests an hour before roosting time, then uncover when I lock up after dark.
No need to get 'up with the birds'.

Remove or block anything higher than the roost you want them to sleep on.
A sharply angled board on top of nests or shelves should do the trick.

 

[gtaus]

They’re all around 1 year old. ... In the end it doesn’t really matter if they sleep on the bars or not, was just curious to what was causing them to shift away from the bars. I’ll definitely update with pictures of them on the bars if they eventually get there

I agree. Although my chickens all are sleeping on the roosting bar at night, I don't think I would be too upset to see some of them sleeping on the coop floor. This past week I noticed one of my girls was sleeping in the nest box at night. She only did that a few days and then went back to the roosting bar. I was thinking she was going broody, but maybe not.

 

[kerbotx]

Just a side note, when using 2x4s as roosts, some chickens prefer the 4" side while others prefer the 2" side. If one isn't working for you, try the other!

 

[Dan Davis]

Also the chickens have more space then this, i just took the picture closer so people can observe the environment

Thank you. I am curious how that is done without spooking them. From the vantage point of the photo, this is how we access the coop to clean it. I don't see a way to access the coop without causing a lot of ruckus.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

They will always roost at he highest point so make the roost highest. Put doors or gates on any shelves that are higher.

How old are the ones that don’t use the roosts? Very young pullets will sleep on the floor. As they mature a few weeks more they start noticing the roost is more desirable. They’ll roost eventually.

My 6 girls are 9 weeks old and they still continue to sleep in the corner in a ball. I’ve been told to go in at night, and manually put them on the roost bar. I would, but, when i open the coop from the back (entire back door opens), I cant reach them! In order to get to them, I have to open the back door, and then unlatch the litter door and climb inside. By then, they would be wide awake and refuse me picking them up! (I didnt hold them enough as teenie tiny babes). Lesson learned there, but if your reading this, what do you recommend? Will they eventually roost?