new chicken family

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RoKdHen

RoKdHen

In the Brooder
5 Years
Apr 25, 2014
34
1
24
Colorado/Utah
Hi all. My husband and I got 4 buff Orpington pullets, 4 Plymouth Rock pullets and 4 straight run aruancuas a month ago. Didnt lose 1. Wow they are all different...They don't really want to sleep on purchs, any ideas how I can encourage that behavior? Thanks nice to meet you...
 
Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan
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Young birds often prefer to sleep in a huddle on the floor. When they get older they will start roosting.
 
Hello :frow and Welcome To BYC! Young chickens often do want to huddle on the floor. If you go in at night and put them up on the roosts a few times, they will often get the idea pretty fast. Do make sure the roosts are easy for them to get on, are close to the ground or have a ladder type system for them to go from one to the other. If they are sleeping in the nesting boxes, close those off, and the highest roost poles should be higher then the boxes.
 
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Welcome to BYC!

You have some really nice breeds there. All my favorites! Kelsie X2. You will need to train them to use the roost bar. If you go up at night or at roosting time, get them on the bar. They may want to jump down, but keep putting them back on. Do this for a few days and eventually they will understand they need to sleep there. Make sure the roost bars are close enough to the ground for young birds to access. You can always build them some small steps out of bricks or blocks of wood or cement.

Enjoy your new babies and welcome to our flock!
 
Thank you both. I'm excited to get them on the right path to chickenhood. They are about six weeks old and so cute to watch. I'm worried about boredom and aggression so I keep a close eye, except at bedtime. Glad I've got a place to learn more.
 
Two, Right now they're in interim pen until they feather out more. There are well placed sticks they do occasionally use but I've not seen them sleep there.
 
I always put roost bars in the brooders. But the time they are 2 or 3 weeks old, they are roosting at night on a 2x4, 2 side up. So when they go out to the coop, they know what to do. Keep working on them and they will be fine. :)
 

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