My girls won't roost at night!

[CoryRed]

I have two nice big vents that run along two sides of the coop. But yeah i think they enjoy the open air. Once in a while right at light i see them walking into the coop for a bit. but only once it starts to get light out.

 

[vpatt]

All of mine but one sleep on the roost....I think that is a combination of being the new bird and being young...I have seen her on the roost during the day so she can reach it. My question is that when they are on the roost they are right in line with vents on two sides and a hardware cloth window on a third side. I have read that they should not have drafts blowing on them directly. I can put in a lower roost but will they go to the lower roost if they are cold and have a choice or should I just take out the higher roost? I told my hubbie to leave it where I could move it if I wanted but he nailed it in place which will make it harder to move....sigh.......tia
:/

 

[vpatt]

I meant to say the chickens are fine now in warm weather.......but in the dead of winter do you think I should have a lower roost out of the way of the vents or should I cover the vents?

 

[gracie58]

mine wont roost either they go to the trees and i am scared something will get them at night what can i do they hop up on the coop and then go to the tree

 

[robbiebobbie]

Everyone of my chicks didn't get on the roost until they were 7-8 weeks old. And I had 3 different groups of three different ages and every group started to get on the roost at that same age.
If they are past these ages, I would check to see if they are getting a bad draft on the roost. Or maybe your roost is to high. Or, your roost boards could be to big or to small.
Hope this helps.

 

[Honomi]

Young birds are full of hope, going to roost on the perch when the time is right for them...... unless like my chickens, they (I have only two) are nearly 1 and half years-old who got nice well ventilated roost for the night, but they won't go there. Instead they'll head to the nest box for the night. I've been putting a blockage-net in the nest box pretty much every night, at least this way they'll go to the roost and on the perch. I've been giving them a chance lots of times without the net covering nest box to see whether they can go to roost for the night but they almost always (9.5 out of 10) settle in the nest box. For their hygiene sake, it would be better for them to sleep on the perch in the roost I think, so my last job of the day is usually sneak out to the nest box and take it out very quietly!

 

[ostmark]

Your roost is really not a roost, but a 2x4. They are unable to grip it as they would were they wild and roosting in trees. A proper roost should be round with no corners, and small enough for them to grip. The size of a broomstick is ideal! And your babies are still a bit young, you will find they will all roost as they mature. Hope that helps!

 

[lazy gardener]

Your roost is really not a roost, but a 2x4. They are unable to grip it as they would were they wild and roosting in trees. A proper roost should be round with no corners, and small enough for them to grip. The size of a broomstick is ideal! And your babies are still a bit young, you will find they will all roost as they mature. Hope that helps!

I beg to differ. That may be fine for a roost in a temperate climate, but in the cold north where frost bite is a problem, it's recommended that a 2 x 4 with the flat side facing up be used so the chicken's feet can be flat, instead of having their toes curled around a narrow roost. This allows them to cover their toes with their breast feathers when they're on the roost, preventing frost bite on their toes.

 

[bathologist]

My chicks did not roost at first. I had to shoo them in from outside in the run after dark with a flashlight. They would all be piled in a corner like puppies hot or cold. They sleep on top of the nest boxes now? Occasionally 1 or 2 of my 5 will roost, but not consistently, but they perch on everything outside of the run, or just lay on the porch. Good luck, I'm stumped. I thought the chicks would learn what to do from my 2 older hens.

 

[sandman55]

I haven't had time to read all the posts in this thread and what I'm going to suggest may already have been suggested. When we get new chooks like our present ones they often are from breeders that keep them on the floor and haven't learned to roost. Our present girls just huddled in the nests and the only solution is to persevere and go out after dark each night and place them on the perch. they soon learn and you will go out one night and they will be roosting.