New roosting behavior. Suggestions welcome

[jreardon1918]

Hi everybody,
I have noticed a new roosting behavior. For the last couple months November-December. Some of the girls are roosting on the edge of the nests. I will go out tonight to see how many are doing this. They have not done this in the past. The boxes have rarely had any poop. And there has not been any changes in how the coop is constructed or setup. It seems to have started about the time they all molted and reduced/stopped laying eggs. I will admit that there are 11 hens in an 8' x 4' coop. All 11 seem to live comfortably with minimal squabbling. The temperature & humidity inside the coop is normally close to the outside conditions.

I welcome any thoughts on possible causes. Also any suggestions for remedy would be appreciated.
Thanks Jack

 

[nuthatched]

Are those big windows just screen?

 

[jreardon1918]

Are those big windows just screen?

There are two windows covered by HW cloth. The open part measures 1' x 2' . They are open 24x7 x 365. The run covers them and prevents rain snow to get in. The run has some clear plastic on three sides. Here are a couple pictures to give you a better sense of the coop and run. These pictures are from a few years ago, but representative.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'll assume they are all adults and have been for a while. They have been sleeping somewhere higher before some moved down. You said no changes in the coop. So some possibilities.

With the advent of winter is a cold breeze hitting where some were sleeping?

Has one turned into a bully on the roosts?

A real wild shot, have you checked them for roost mites?

Could you have had a predator scare that frightened them from the roosts?

It sounds like you still have a few laying so you don't want to block the nests. Some possible remediation.

After it is too dark for them to see go out there and move any that need it to where you want them to sleep. They may catch on quickly or it may take a while. Be persistent.

After they have finished laying for the day block the nests so they cannot sleep there. Do this before bedtime. After it is too dark for them to move take away that block so they can lay eggs early the next morning. I don't like this that much since you have no way of knowing when they have learned to sleep where you want them to.

I guess if you really don't like it you could eat them but that is overdramatic even for me.

 

[jreardon1918]

I'll assume they are all adults and have been for a while. They have been sleeping somewhere higher before some moved down. You said no changes in the coop. So some possibilities.

With the advent of winter is a cold breeze hitting where some were sleeping?

Has one turned into a bully on the roosts?

A real wild shot, have you checked them for roost mites?

Could you have had a predator scare that frightened them from the roosts?

It sounds like you still have a few laying so you don't want to block the nests. Some possible remediation.

After it is too dark for them to see go out there and move any that need it to where you want them to sleep. They may catch on quickly or it may take a while. Be persistent.

After they have finished laying for the day block the nests so they cannot sleep there. Do this before bedtime. After it is too dark for them to move take away that block so they can lay eggs early the next morning. I don't like this that much since you have no way of knowing when they have learned to sleep where you want them to.

I guess if you really don't like it you could eat them but that is overdramatic even for me.

Thank you for this helpful post. Yes they are all adults. Ranging in ages from almost 2 years - 4 or 5 years. I haven't seen an egg in weeks. I see coyotes quite often in the yard. But the coop and run so far have been safe. A large skirmish would have resulted in my camera picking it up. As to a breeze, the run is protected as it always has been. Picture above. There could be breezes, but it would be like other winters.

I will try the following in the next few days:

• Tonight I will go out a couple times to observe.
• Tomorrow look for mites.
• Where they are not laying, I will start blocking the nests for roost time.

 

[jreardon1918]

A minor update... Today I did a mini clean of the nest boxes. That simply entailed raking out all the pine shavings and adding fresh shavings to the boxes and a new layers in the coop itself.

 

[Seaslug]

Are the ones who are roosting in the boxes your older hens? There may be no changes in the coop set up but there could be changes with the hens. Perhaps, being older, they need the additional protection in the cold temps that the nesting boxes give them? If so, it may not be a good idea to force them on the roost bars -- maybe they will return when it warms up? Don't know that this is the case, but wanted to put it out there as a possibility.

 

[aart]

I will start blocking the nests for roost time.

Good start, see what they do when you block that area.

You've probably seen this before, but just for a reminder:
Google images of lice/mites and their eggs before the inspection so you'll know what you're looking for.

Part the feathers right down to the skin around vent, head/neck and under wings.

Best done well after dark with a strong flashlight/headlight, easier to 'catch' bird and also to check for the mites that live in structure and only come out at night to feed off roosting birds.

Look fast, they will scatter quickly once the feathers are parted and the light hits them.

Wipe a white paper towel along the underside of roost to look for red smears(smashed well fed mites).

Good post about mite ID by Lady McCamley:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/my-chicken-has-mites-now-what.1273674/page-2#post-20483008

 

[Sic]

Hi everybody,
I have noticed a new roosting behavior. For the last couple months November-December. Some of the girls are roosting on the edge of the nests. I will go out tonight to see how many are doing this. They have not done this in the past. The boxes have rarely had any poop. And there has not been any changes in how the coop is constructed or setup. It seems to have started about the time they all molted and reduced/stopped laying eggs. I will admit that there are 11 hens in an 8' x 4' coop. All 11 seem to live comfortably with minimal squabbling. The temperature & humidity inside the coop is normally close to the outside conditions.

I welcome any thoughts on possible causes. Also any suggestions for remedy would be appreciated.
Thanks Jack

When you say the edge of the nest, are they roosting on the plywood there? ( that can't be comfortable) There could be reasons that were mentioned above, and age/weight can also be a factor. If nothing else, I'd add a lower roost bar maybe going across the 4' that they could use to roost on or something else that can help them get up to the higher roost to rule out physically not wanting or incapable or jumping/flying up and down...

 

[jreardon1918]

I think so. I did not go out last night to witness the who and how. But it looks like they are roosting on the plywood . That plywood could be removed. It was there to keep the shavings from the main coop from being scratched into the nests. Here is a new picture. The red circles are where they were likely roosting. Note that there were poops both in and out of the nest boxes over the last few weeks. This morning there is just one poop inside the leftside box.