Juvies not Roosting

[SourRoses]

Hi guys! So it's my turn to ask this question.
Our juvenile flock is being silly. They're 3-4 months old and still insist on sleeping in a pile on the floor.
They have a 10x10 former stall coop with two open HW Cloth sides. It's cool inside, being in deep shade, and they prefer to spend most of their days in there.
The roost is one the adults just loved. It used to be a plant display rack, with staggered "steps" comprising 4 levels with the top level being about 4.5ft and the lowest being close to the ground. I looked at it before we moved them to the coop and said the babies will love that. They jump up on the second level easily and hang out there but they won't sleep there. They've been in the coop about 6 weeks.
The night before last we lost the smallest one. Thought this thing was totally predator proof after it being in service 4 years now. We even put in a concrete "skirt" before putting the babies out there because I was paranoid the long-ago buried dog panels could let in smaller predators. We found a tiny dug hole that exploited a weakness in the concrete work. So we patched things up.
I then decided to be sneaky. With my moms help we went out after dark. Being super quiet and with minimal light we snuck out there and I attempted to lift the sleeping chicks and put them on the second level of the roost. The big boy, Clifford, jumped right down again. So I picked up smaller ones faster, thinking if I could get them lined up close together they wouldn't want to get down again. It worked up to 3, then I got Clifford up there again and he honked and jumped down again. The previous 3 tried to follow him down and fell in the dark on their faces. That's when I decided the manual method was out.
Since everyone was already disturbed, mom uncovered the flashlight, and that's when I saw a great big rat skitter out of a teeny tiny gap. Where a wall panel meets the support post there is a 1/4 inch gap for a 2ft section which looks so innocuous and like nothing could ever fit through it. UGH. So I got some HW cloth and patched it.

The plan for today was to put our mildest, lowest of the pecking order Am hen in with the Juvies so she could show them how to use the roost at night, she and her friends loved that thing. She's been just on the other side of the fence from them for 6 weeks. But she immediately morphed into a b-word and ran them ragged. The English Orpingtons are just too floofy to be running around in this heat. So I let her back out of there. UGH

How do I convince this lot to roost so they will be safer?

PS. We are pretty sure it was a rat that got the smallest. The body had most of the feathers still but was otherwise stripped to the bone.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

In order of priority (just my opinion,) I would deal with the rat situation, THEN the Roosting. I won't tell you "how," to kill the rat population (there will be more than just the one you saw,) you can search forums for many, many ways. My preference is OneBite. But that's because I have a system where I hide it under my coop where no chicken, cat, dog or bird can get to it, only rats. I think I've only had to do this 3 times in 20years. So then AFTER the threat of being killed by a rat is gone I wouldn't be surprised if roosting works it's way out. I could be wrong but seems familiar to me is that youngster's prefer to "pile up." This is picture of my 2 separate roosting situations. The little's that I have will eventually roost with the big's but for now they all prefer to pile up on the one small roost bar to the left together even though they have a ton of space to spread out to right. It's just an age thing but I also think they might feel safer from the rat together (even though they're not.) Please do get rid of the rats. Chicks are no match for a giant rat. Hen's are... I might never forget watching my hens take down a small rat, leaving a tiny pile of fur, brutal.... Good luck!

 

[JedJackson]

Persistence pays off. At bedtime, put them on the roosts and keep doing it until they get sick of flying down. Do it every night until they get it.

Ventilation might be a factor. If it is significantly warmer on the roosts than on the floor that may be why they refuse to roost. So increased ventilation could help.

Another thing to look at is how sturdy the roost is. Some chickens cannot abide even a little bit of shakiness, so adjustments may be needed.

 

[SourRoses]

Persistence pays off. At bedtime, put them on the roosts and keep doing it until they get sick of flying down. Do it every night until they get it.

Ventilation might be a factor. If it is significantly warmer on the roosts than on the floor that may be why they refuse to roost. So increased ventilation could help.

Another thing to look at is how sturdy the roost is. Some chickens cannot abide even a little bit of shakiness, so adjustments may be needed.

It's really well vented. I'm usually one of those telling people their chickens are not going in the coop because of the heat / ventilation. It has two open sides. We put them there over the other coop because the English Orps don't seem to do as well in the heat, so this gives them the coolest spot. Their huddle on the ground looks very warm.
Our other juveniles in the shed coop all roost easily at night and I've never had chooks not get it for so long. The roost is very sturdy, it has a metal frame and I could stand on that thing. I'm a bit OCD so when we put it in I was making sure it sat perfectly level for about an hour, Lol.

 

[SourRoses]

In order of priority (just my opinion,) I would deal with the rat situation, THEN the Roosting. I won't tell you "how," to kill the rat population (there will be more than just the one you saw,) you can search forums for many, many ways. My preference is OneBite. But that's because I have a system where I hide it under my coop where no chicken, cat, dog or bird can get to it, only rats.

Eek, I am just scared to use poison around the chooks. We live near some pretty big farms and I'm pretty sure the rats come from there. Will probably have to break down and use the poison. We've had to poison once before years ago and then I didn't see any owls for a year. I hate doing it, so far being careful with feed has seemed effective, but now it seems otherwise.
I still want those chook hineys up on that roost!
Tbh I think it's Clifford's fault. He is the flock leader, oldest, and super heavy for his age. So floofy too, we love him. But I rarely saw him perch even as a chick. The littles all follow his lead about everything. When they were small they seemed to think he was the mom and he just put up with chicks shoving under his wings.
Ok, talking it out helped. My new focus shall be:
1. Poison. Can probably get it off the landlord and put it out today.
2. Convincing Clifford to roost. Why is he not putting his round hiney up there?

 

[JedJackson]

It's really well vented. I'm usually one of those telling people their chickens are not going in the coop because of the heat / ventilation. It has two open sides. We put them there over the other coop because the English Orps don't seem to do as well in the heat, so this gives them the coolest spot. Their huddle on the ground looks very warm.
Our other juveniles in the shed coop all roost easily at night and I've never had chooks not get it for so long. The roost is very sturdy, it has a metal frame and I could stand on that thing. I'm a bit OCD so when we put it in I was making sure it sat perfectly level for about an hour, Lol.

Okay, so it sounds like everything is good but they are just not cooperating. I think persistence in putting them up on the roosts is going to be key. Really can't think of any other way to do it.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

Can you post a picture of the Roost? And the whole coop for that matter? Might be helpful. I understand the reluctance to use Poison, that's why I do suggest you read some other threads to learn the various ways that people deal with them.

 

[SourRoses]

Okay, I took some pictures.
*There is a hole in the back wall, upper right, where the board rotted. It's covered in Hw Cloth. Permanent repair is on "the list"... you know, the one that gets ignored and used as a placemat
The last one shows the crack where the rat was. Maybe it's wider than I thought. Hw Cloth was added there but I will replace that with a board.
Oh, and you can't see our concrete skirt / apron thing under the sand.

 

[SandyRiverChick]

What a great little coop! I see why you said the planter is a good roost! As long as it's truly stable? Maybe use metal strapping to make sure. Unfortunately I think it's easier to dispatch rats than it is to try to keep them out. I wish it wasn't the case but it's like you said you saw a big one squeeze through a tiny hole. As you know I've used poison where I'm certain chickens cant get to it, literally under the floor of my coop a while back when I could tell they were nesting under it. But for rodent control after they were dead I adopted 3 feral barn cats. Rat problem completely gone and mine was substantial, they had eaten my truck wires twice and killed a hot tub!! It was war and my army of cats won. I hope you can get a good rat control system and I think that if you put a fan in there and keep placing Clifford up on a roost he'll eventually relent.

 

[SourRoses]

Clifford - 10
Me - Zero
Doesn't help that I hurt my back the other day. He weighs a ton. He doesn't mind bouncing around in the dark. Brat! (but I love you)