New Coop Behavior

[BonnieBlue]

I moved my 2 hens into their new coop on Wednesday night late. When I went out on Thursday morning at daybreak, they were on the roost where I put them. However, the past two mornings when I have gone out there before daybreak to check on them, one is sleeping on the poop board, which is close, so ok, but one is sleeping in the nexting boxes. Does it just take a while for them to settle in enough to want to roost? There is no light coming in the windows next to the roosts because it is a rural area, so it is nice and dark in the coop and on the roosts.

I am resisting putting up boards to block off the roosts at night and want to make that last resort. But I don't want this to become her habit.

 

[ChickyCh00k]

Are the roosts higher than the nest boxes? How old are the birds?

Change can be stressful, and new/strange behavior is to be expected, but there may be other factors at play. Do you have pics of your new setup? What was the old setup?

 

[BonnieBlue]

The roosts are 15" higher than the floor of the nesting boxes. The old coop was 4x4 total. The new one is 5.5'x16' on the chicken side, and same on the people/work side. A plywood and welded wire wall splits the two sides. I am going to do a thread, as this is my dream coop and just got moved and them moved into it. They are two years and two months old. It is just the two of them for now.

 

[ChickyCh00k]

It's great you've got your dream coop! Congrats!

What breed are the chickens? How high are roosts off the floor of the coop? How high above the poop board? What size are the roosts (same as in the old coop?) 2x4?

They may just need time to adjust. Perhaps manually placing them on the roost each night would help them acclimate.