New chickens stopped roosting?!

[DoubleYolk123]

Hi, I’ve had 3 brown hybrids since May, and about 4 weeks ago I got a light Sussex hybrid and 2 black copper maran hybrids.

Housing them was a struggle at first, for 2 weeks we had a wire divider through the run and the indoor coop as well. So they could see each other at all times but not touch each other. When they were separate from each other everyone perched (except one of the original girls who never perches, not even once) but now they’re all in together (for around 2 weeks now) the younger girls have stopped perching. There is enough space on the perch for everyone, but they seem to have lost interest.....

Is there a way to encourage them to start perching again? Seems a waste to have 4/6 girls not use the perches. Luckily they very rarely sleep in the nest boxes.

My second question is, when they were separate the new girls didn’t have a door in, and we had to open the whole coop up and place them in their half every night, and they’d tell us they were ready to sleep by flying onto the roof of the coop. Now they don’t seem to have realised they can use the door, and still try to sleep on the roof even though they see the older girls go in every night by themselves?! Any way to break this habit?

Thanks in advance !

 

[MrFluffyandGirls]

Try picking them up and putting them in the doorway until they get the habit of walking through the door. If the door is elevated add a ramp and they may walk up it.
Other than setting them on the roost I'm not sure about that because I have a few leghorns that want to roost as high as they can go and roost on a weird board above where I intend them to roost.

 

[ChickenFriends234]

They might like the other area to roost

 

[DoubleYolk123]

Try picking them up and putting them in the doorway until they get the habit of walking through the door. If the door is elevated add a ramp and they may walk up it.
Other than setting them on the roost I'm not sure about that because I have a few leghorns that want to roost as high as they can go and roost on a weird board above where I intend them to roost.

Every night I place them at the door and try to get them to go in but they just keep sleeping outside, and I’ll have to try placing them directly on the perch itself

 

[DoubleYolk123]

They might like the other area to roost

Yeh maybe they just like the outdoors haha, although it’s been freezing and chucking it down with rain and they’ve been out their before long after the older girls went to sleep (I was out that day so didn’t get home till about an hour after they’re bedtime)

 

[MrFluffyandGirls]

Every night I place them at the door and try to get them to go in but they just keep sleeping outside, and I’ll have to try placing them directly on the perch itself

Yes the direct approach until they get the hang of it. Is it dark where they can't see to get on the perch you might need to add a night light that you can turn off after they go in or add a window where light can get in.

 

[DoubleYolk123]

Yes the direct approach until they get the hang of it. Is it dark where they can't see to get on the perch you might need to add a night light that you can turn off after they go in or add a window where light can get in.

My coop is built onto the side of my garage with a large glass window looking into the coop, the garage light does shine through but I don’t purposefully leave it on, I’ll have to try it. It just seems odd that the older girls do fine but the younger girls seem to have forgotten. Could the older girls be stopping them? Like pushing them off when they try?

 

[MrFluffyandGirls]

My coop is built onto the side of my garage with a large glass window looking into the coop, the garage light does shine through but I don’t purposefully leave it on, I’ll have to try it. It just seems odd that the older girls do fine but the younger girls seem to have forgotten. Could the older girls be stopping them? Like pushing them off when they try?

Yes the older ones could be hogging the roost and bullying the younger ones off the roost. I had one set that never fully messed with the newer ones and they always stayed apart like I had two separate flocks.

 

[DoubleYolk123]

Yes the older ones could be hogging the roost and bullying the younger ones off the roost. I had one set that never fully messed with the newer ones and they always stayed apart like I had two separate flocks.

Mine seem to being doing the same, I have outdoor perches and platforms that the younger ones seem to use to avoid the older ones.
I read somewhere that chickens will always try to get higher if possible, so would building another even higher perch mean that the older girls would perhaps let the younger ones onto the original perches?

 

[MrFluffyandGirls]

Mine seem to being doing the same, I have outdoor perches and platforms that the younger ones seem to use to avoid the older ones.
I read somewhere that chickens will always try to get higher if possible, so would building another even higher perch mean that the older girls would perhaps let the younger ones onto the original perches?

I'm not sure,they are territorial and the the coop it's self might be whats claimed by the older girls....they are creatures of habit and I have leghorns that are flyers and go as high as they can and I have a heaver black star that only goes about 2 feet up and I have two little silkies that like to huddle in a corner together. Chicken brains...LOL!