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.

 

[BonnieBlue]

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.

Thank you!

I have two Easter Eggers. The roosts are 31" off of the floor, and the poop boards are 6 inches below. The roosts are 2x4. The old roosting bars were 2x2. Maybe they have to get used to the different size?

I have been going in about an hour before daylight for the last couple of days and putting them on the roosts. I have been so wiped out from the ongoing process of moving, by the time I know they are asleep and I can get them from where ever they are settled I am crashing myself.

 

[ChickyCh00k]

Thank you!

I have two Easter Eggers. The roosts are 31" off of the floor, and the poop boards are 6 inches below. The roosts are 2x4. The old roosting bars were 2x2. Maybe they have to get used to the different size?

I have been going in about an hour before daylight for the last couple of days and putting them on the roosts. I have been so wiped out from the ongoing process of moving, by the time I know they are asleep and I can get them from where ever they are settled I am crashing myself.

I know it can be exhausting dealing with roost time issues in the evening (especially when it is still fairly light out when I'm getting ready for bed - I've been there - I feel your pain. I switched my girls to a new coop last spring and it was A LOT of work).

I'm not sure if I understood your post - are you going out early in the a.m. (you said "before daylight") to put them on the roost, or did you mean before sunset?

I would recommend placing them on the roost when it is *completely dark* (at night, not in the morning). This will hopefully get them used to getting on the roost at the appropriate time (in the p.m.). Putting them on the roost in the a.m. may not get you the result you're wanting as they likely won't make the connection between bedtime and roost time in the new coop.

Everything else sounds good - roost height, poop board, they have a soft landing place...

 

[BonnieBlue]

I am going out about an hour and a half before daylight and moving them. I am going to have to just wait until after they are settled and go out late.

I know they will love it when they adjust. Especially when they see how much more run room they have. They had a 56 sq ft run for the two of them before. Now they have a 960 sq ft run. But they will stay in the coop for the first week.

 

[ChickyCh00k]

Yes, I think you'll get better results if you put them on the roost in the dark, at night. I know it's a pain in the patootie, but I think you'll get better results quicker. Alternatively, you could just wait and see if they figure it out on their own. Roosting on the poop board isn't the end of the world (and I would suspect that she'd eventually make it on to the roost), but the one sleeping in the nest is an issue (don't want poo in the nests).

Some of the issue might be all that extra space they now have. I moved mine from a 4x6 to a 9x10 and they were SHOOK! At the time, I had 7 hens, so they fit fine in the 4x6, but they were snuggled up on a single roost. The 9x10 has 3 roosts and is, obviously, MUCH bigger. It was like they had too much space and didn't know what to do. With only 2 hens in that large of a space, they could just be discombobulated.

In my experience, chickens tend to work a lot of stuff out on their own (but not usually as quickly as we'd like them to). If you're overwhelmed and tired, take a break and see if they figure it out in a few more days. If not, you can try going out in the dark, at night, and see if it makes a difference (that way, at least you've gotten a few nights rest).

 

[BonnieBlue]

Yes, I think you'll get better results if you put them on the roost in the dark, at night. I know it's a pain in the patootie, but I think you'll get better results quicker. Alternatively, you could just wait and see if they figure it out on their own. Roosting on the poop board isn't the end of the world (and I would suspect that she'd eventually make it on to the roost), but the one sleeping in the nest is an issue (don't want poo in the nests).

Some of the issue might be all that extra space they now have. I moved mine from a 4x6 to a 9x10 and they were SHOOK! At the time, I had 7 hens, so they fit fine in the 4x6, but they were snuggled up on a single roost. The 9x10 has 3 roosts and is, obviously, MUCH bigger. It was like they had too much space and didn't know what to do. With only 2 hens in that large of a space, they could just be discombobulated.

In my experience, chickens tend to work a lot of stuff out on their own (but not usually as quickly as we'd like them to). If you're overwhelmed and tired, take a break and see if they figure it out in a few more days. If not, you can try going out in the dark, at night, and see if it makes a difference (that way, at least you've gotten a few nights rest).

Thank you. I just went out and moved them. Violet didn't want any part of being moved out of the nesting box. I'll keep it up and hope she learns quick. I just don't want her to get too used to sleeping in the nesting box.

The poop board was no big deal, but I move her up onto the roost primarily ti hopefully keep her sister there with moral support.

 

[ChickyCh00k]

I just don't want her to get too used to sleeping in the nesting box.

I don't blame you there! Since there's only 2 hens right now, it might be worth it to block the nest boxes in the evening (after laying time has ended), and see if that gets miss nest-sleeper onto the roost. I know you'd rather not resort to that, but her instinct *should* be to get up high when it starts to get dark (since your nests are raised, she may be content with that, and not seek out the actual roost). If the nests are not accessible, she'll only have one option.

I might block the nests AND manually place on the roost for a couple nights, then just block the nests in the p.m. until they get their s*** together!

Wishing you luck!

Nice coop BTW! I saw the pics on the other thread. I'm sure they'll be very happy in it once they get settled. Are you planning to get more chickens?