My chickens won’t use their roosting poles

[Aussie Chicken Guy]

Hi,
I have four chickens in a pre-fab coop which says it can accommodate six. It came with two roosts which only sat maybe 10cm off the floor.

Before they started to use those roosts, I installed two roosts which I cut from a nearby tree and held them in place with hooks; however, they do have minimal movement if they shift their weight a lot while on it - otherwise they’re sturdy enough.

Anyway, my chickens continue to want to huddle in the corner at night (I’m in Australia so is summer here - not cold at night). For the past two weeks or so I’ve gone out and placed them on the roosts and then for the most part they’ll stay up because I find them there in the morning. But they won’t instinctively use the roosts themselves.

Any advice?

 

[Pyxis]

10 cm off the ground isn't very high. How wide are the roosts? I know in the prefab coops I've seen they're very narrow and look like they'd be uncomfortable to perch on.

How big is the coop itself?

 

[Welshies]

Roosts should be higher than the nesting boxes and they need 12" of roost space per bird.

 

[Splendid Medley]

My chickens roost on top of their nesting boxes and (in summer) on the roof of the coup (still protected by run). One makes a nest in one of the nesting boxes and sleeps there.

 

[Aussie Chicken Guy]

The ones 10cm off the ground were the pre-fab ones. They seemed too low as well. I installed two tree limbs as roosts, approximately 5cm in diameter, and placed them about 30cm off the floor of the coop.

I don’t have a picture of the inside of the coop where they sleep but here’s the exterior:

 

[Pyxis]

So the bad news is that the coop is definitely too small, going from this picture. The inside part of the coop should have 4 square feet per bird, so at least 16 square feet for four birds, which would mean 4 feet by 4 feet would be the minimum dimensions. Judging from the picture I'd be surprised if that coop was half that size.

The small size could be the trouble here - they just don't feel they have enough room to flap up to the roosts without knocking into something or knocking their heads off the ceiling on their way onto the roost.

 

[Aussie Chicken Guy]

Thanks for the help everyone. I’ll have to see what I can do. I’m surprised that the company would say that this coop can accommodate six chickens!

 

[Pyxis]

Unfortunately they'll say anything to make money, and it's not like people are out there regulating what they can and can't say Those prefab coops also aren't great at standing up to the elements. They'll fall apart in a couple years. I have a similar prefab rabbit hutch that I bought as a stopgap until I could get a better one built. Two winters and it's already starting to break down.

 

[lazy gardener]

Thanks for the help everyone. I’ll have to see what I can do. I’m surprised that the company would say that this coop can accommodate six chickens!

Don't feel too bad. You are not alone. MANY, MANY, MANY new chicken owners are suckered by the false advertising claims of pre fab coop manufacturers. I will categorically state that I have NEVER seen a pre fab coop that was not poorly designed, over priced, falsely advertised, and stated by manufacturer to be able to house more chickens than it can safely do so.

There needs to be some accountability for such false advertising, but I don't know how the consumers can make that happen.

 

[junebuggena]

Aside from the coop being too small, the birds are also quite young. It's pretty normal for younger birds to huddle on the floor of the coop, especially if there are no grownups to show them. It's not at all unusual to have 16 week olds that still don't roost.