My 4 Month Old Chickens Still Do Not Roost

[esilverstein]

My 11 chickens who are 4 months old still do not roost. They huddle together in a corner of my "Chicken Palace" even though there is plenty of space to roost on thick enough bars only 2 feet off the ground. Will they ever start roosting on the bars? I've been told that they can develop problems with their feet and/or feathers from being on the floor so long and rubbing against each other so often.

 

[ChickLover98]

My hens used to do that, too, and when I got my rooster, he sorta showed them how to roost... Hope your girlies can figure it out!

 

[Jesseschickens]

I would try putting them on a roost at night or put the domanite hen on the roost and hope the others follow

 

[cmgunn5]

I have to agree with putting the dominant one on the roost. When I got my girls in April, for the first week they wouldn't and I started putting the dominant ON the roost and if she jumped off I put her back on and, believe it or not; starting stratching her neck and she stayed on the roost. The next night I did the same thing, the other girls started to follow her lead. And yes, I started to scratch them all, and still do when they go up for the night.. LiL Love don't hurt. lol. Good luck.

 

[Orangina]

What breed of chickens are they? I've had to show my chickens how to roost before, usually only took a couple nights before they figured it out and did it themselves. And then my boyfriend brought home three beautiful (and ginormous) adult silver laced cochins. Um, they could barely walk up the ramp, let alone roost. We ended up making them a roost much lower to the floor of their upper coop, and after that the two hens started roosting. The rooster, who was probably 12 pounds or so, never roosted, and instead kept watch in a little nest by the door. He had no foot problems other than he liked to scratch people with his big old claws. Needless to say, that rooster found a new home (and no it wasn't a crockpot).

Anyway, I've seen chickens start to roost in the brooder at two weeks and then the same ones won't go up on their big girl roosts out in the coop. Like the previous poster wrote, sometimes they just need somebody with a little TLC to show them the way. Good luck with your chickens!