My hens squeezed together in a corner of the coop, is this normal?

[Judy]

If your roost pole is wide enough for them to be comfortable, and higher than the nests, they will most likely end up on the roost on their own; mine always have. They like to sleep in the highest spot (eventually) and they like something about like the wide side of a 2x4 to roost on. Chicken feet are a bit different from most bird feet -- they don't really wrap around a small round pole like a broomstick, as many other birds would. Also, if it gets good and cold where you live, this lets them cover their feet better in the winter, to keep their toes warm.

And yes, hens certainly do have combs. It depends on the breed. You might go the the breeds section of the forum and look at pics of EE's and RIR or NHR. EE's are actually not a breed, they are a mix of breeds, and have more than one type of comb. This will give you an idea:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=9280

I've seen drawings of the different types somewhere but can't put my hands on it this minute.

 

[qqlessplz]

Ive just closed off my nesting box house where they preferred to lay as im trying to encourage them to use the coup that there is plenty room for all of them and they are all huddling in the corner and outside on the support beams for the nesting boxes. im trying to encourage fertalization the also be able to close the coup because i have vervet monkeys stealing my eggs constantly. I have 50 birds which include 4 roosters there is half inch mesh on the bottom of the coup, 2 inch cross beams for them to stand on and roost on (all flat) but it looks liek they prefer to huddle in the corner. i inherited all of this from a small holding i just bought so im trying to learn and fix. I have them up from 7 eggs every 3 days to over 36 every 2 days now. so moving in the right direction