New chicks sleeping outside

[Tlmcq]

How many younger ones? You are looking at maximum of 4 to maybe 5 birds, if everyone gets along, for that size coop. 4 sq ft per bird is really minimum.

 

[Ridgerunner]

How sure are you that another chicken killed that one? Could it have been something else? Were they locked in that coop together when that chicken died or did they have access to the coop and the 10x10 run? Do you lock them in the coop at night or do you leave the pop door open?

How were they acting before this happened? Were the four keeping off to themselves and avoiding the older ones when they could? My pullets normally do that until they start laying eggs. Not always but normally. When they start laying they mature enough to force their way into the pecking order. When chickens fight the loser runs away. If it doesn’t run away the winner doesn’t know it won and it keeps attacking, usually going for the head. That’s where it can do the most damage.

This is purely a guess but it’s possible there was a pecking order fight and the pullet could not get away when it lost. If you leave the pop door open (that run would need to be predator proof to do that and you did not say you had a top) the loser could run away and tragedy would probably be avoided. This kind of stuff can possibly happen in an even larger coop but the more room you have the less likely it is to happen.

 

[walte1fr]

That is the coop only that is inside the run. I enclosed all of it and put 5 roosting rungs in there divided between the 2 of the rooms. The 3 old ones all sleep on the same rung furthest in the coop so that leaves a whole room open with 3 rungs that run 30". I put dividers and obsitcals in the run so that way the new ones have somewhere to hide. Everything is fine now. No pecking at eachother.
So back to the original question. How do you get a bird to roost instead of lay on the ground to sleep?

 

[walte1fr]

How sure are you that another chicken killed that one? Could it have been something else? Were they locked in that coop together when that chicken died or did they have access to the coop and the 10x10 run? Do you lock them in the coop at night or do you leave the pop door open?

How were they acting before this happened? Were the four keeping off to themselves and avoiding the older ones when they could? My pullets normally do that until they start laying eggs. Not always but normally. When they start laying they mature enough to force their way into the pecking order. When chickens fight the loser runs away. If it doesn’t run away the winner doesn’t know it won and it keeps attacking, usually going for the head. That’s where it can do the most damage.

This is purely a guess but it’s possible there was a pecking order fight and the pullet could not get away when it lost. If you leave the pop door open (that run would need to be predator proof to do that and you did not say you had a top) the loser could run away and tragedy would probably be avoided. This kind of stuff can possibly happen in an even larger coop but the more room you have the less likely it is to happen.

Thank you for an actual understanding answer and not criticizing.
I built a steel roof over the 10x10 fence and leave the coops door open. There are large pacers around the base of the fence so nothing can dig under. I guess it was a guess that it was a pecking order fight lost. I have boards leaned up in places and also in the roof the new chickens can get up to the rafters to be over everything. I built this coop and run based off many others I saw on here with 10+ chickens. We have 4 full size and 2 bantams. There seems to be plenty of room. The new ones just learned to lay on the ground so I'm looking for a way to break that habit.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Can you go out after they are asleep and place each one on the roost in the section the older ones are not sleeping in?

I find my young birds will sleep in a pile until about 14 weeks old. Then they figure it out seemingly overnight.

 

[walte1fr]

I was thinking that. I wasn't sure if anyone had tried that yet. Basically they have their own little coop/room in there. I cannot open the top on the empty half but I could place them inside most likely. For some reason those older birds love to cuddle up on the same roost. The new ones all cuddle up in a group right now too. They could easily have separate rooms to sleep in haha maybe I'll try that tonight.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Until mine mature enough to make their way into the pecking order they don't sleep on the main roosts with the adults. They either sleep in a group on the ground or somewhere else. I put a juvenile roost lower than the main roosts, horizontally separated from the main roosts, and higher than the nests to give them a safe place to go that is not the nests.

In my grow-out coop where there are no adults my chicks typically start to roost at 10 to 12 weeks. Until then they tend to sleep in a group on the ground or coop floor. Some have started roosting at 5 weeks, some take longer, but 10 to 12 is a good average for mine. People with different set-ups will get different results.

After dark, you can try putting them on the roost in the area not used and see how that goes, that's a good idea.

Good luck!

 

[walte1fr]

Thank you so much for an actual helpful answer. I will give it a shot tonight and see how they do

 

[Tlmcq]

I still have older chickens that sleep under my roo who refused to roost and younger ones that roost in separate area of same coop with another roo. Sorry, if you felt I was critical, wasn't my intention. I was just trying to get a full picture of circumstances in order to help and from all ppl I've asked here and researched elsewhere said 4sq ft per bird in coop and 10sq ft in run. But, these are just guidelines. I've seen perfectly happy healthy flocks in coops smaller than that and fighting and problems in coops that were much bigger. Flock dynamic has a lot to do with it. Best of luck to you and hope everyone works out their differences to become a peaceful flock.