New girls sleeping on top of coop

[Ginger buckley]

Last year was my first year as chicken owner, I have 4 from last year got 3 new ones this year all different breeds.. I love my chickens so much lol lots of fun. When i merged them this year i put fence between them for awhile and they have separate coops. Took divider down couple weeks ago and they started becoming social but still slept in separate coops. About 3 days ago the new chickens started sleeping on top of the older chickens coop.. Is this normal? There's not enough room inside old coop for 7 not that the older girl's would let them in lol. What do I do?

 

[DobieLover]

What do I do?

Build a bigger coop.
"Fit" isn't so much the issue as having enough space to be comfortable physically and mentally and having enough ventilation for health.

 

[Ginger buckley]

Build a bigger coop.
"Fit" isn't so much the issue as having enough space to be comfortable physically and mentally and having enough ventilation for health.

The other coop that the new girls started out in is plenty big enough.. If I take smaller coop out I'm afraid it will upset my older girls , after all it's their home.. See my dilemma?

 

[EIEIO Funny Farm]

Last year was my first year as chicken owner, I have 4 from last year got 3 new ones this year all different breeds.. I love my chickens so much lol lots of fun. When i merged them this year i put fence between them for awhile and they have separate coops. Took divider down couple weeks ago and they started becoming social but still slept in separate coops. About 3 days ago the new chickens started sleeping on top of the older chickens coop.. Is this normal? There's not enough room inside old coop for 7 not that the older girl's would let them in lol. What do I do?

I had to build an addition to my existing coop to add more roosting space.

 

[aart]

If I take smaller coop out I'm afraid it will upset my older girls , after all it's their home.. See my dilemma?

Yeah, they'll be upset, but they'll get over it.
If you want all birds in one coop, said coop has to be big enough.

 

[Ginger buckley]

Yeah, they'll be upset, but they'll get over it.
If you want all birds in one coop, said coop has to be big enough.

Thanks for your feedback.

 

[member 512732]

Last year was my first year as chicken owner, I have 4 from last year got 3 new ones this year all different breeds.. I love my chickens so much lol lots of fun. When i merged them this year i put fence between them for awhile and they have separate coops. Took divider down couple weeks ago and they started becoming p[psocial but still slept in separate coops. About 3 days ago the new chickens started sleeping on top of the older chickens coop.. Is this normal? There's not enough room inside old coop for 7 not that the older girl's would let them in lol. What do I do?

Telling a chicken where or how to sleep or lay eggs is like having my mom tell me where to sleep. Its not gonna happen. I put a second fridge outside and they want no part of it. They are totally free roaming and they have separate social groups as well as the ducks. I just noticed my several day old chick is now sleeping on her head and removed her from the bigger chicks and put her with yesterdays newborns. I dont know if it is cuz of the heat or because I had to remove most of the chicks from the shells and membranes having half either already dead or dying shortly after. The electric company had a three day outtage and the incubator shut off. I didnt get the generator put together yet. If the chick continues this I will post a pic. I put them in the water dish and their head was in the water. I made them walk on the floor and after a somersault they had walked correctly. Everyone else seems to be ok.

 

[Ginger buckley]

Telling a chicken where or how to sleep or lay eggs is like having my mom tell me where to sleep. Its not gonna happen. I put a second fridge outside and they want no part of it. They are totally free roaming and they have separate social groups as well as the ducks. I just noticed my several day old chick is now sleeping on her head and removed her from the bigger chicks and put her with yesterdays newborns. I dont know if it is cuz of the heat or because I had to remove most of the chicks from the shells and membranes having half either already dead or dying shortly after. The electric company had a three day outtage and the incubator shut off. I didnt get the generator put together yet. If the chick continues this I will post a pic. I put them in the water dish and their head was in the water. I made them walk on the floor and after a somersault they had walked correctly. Everyone else seems to be ok.

Thanks for replying, I'm so sorry about all your babies, I have not experience chicks hatching yet, it would be awful to see them not make it hopefully the others will continue to be ok.. As far as my girls it's a wait and see but I'm fascinated by their behavior, love watching them try and figure out the pecking order..