Newbie here!

[KatkyCampbell]

Hi all! I am new here and boy do I have a lot of questions! LOL....I am a brand new urban chicken mama (thanks Covid 19 for my new hobby!!) Here is my first/most pressing question. We have raised and integrated 2 hens (19 weeks old now) with our 2 older hens and all has gone well except for night time. The young ones have not taken well to being in the roost area in the coop with the ladies. We built them their own little mini coop with 2 nesting boxes and a roost for them and we have put them in there each night up on the perch by hand. Once we do that they seem to settle down and are fine. BUT if we don't do that they just hop up on the roof of the main coop the ladies are in and sleep on the top of the slopped roof. I keep going out there in the dark and putting them in their coop on the roost.

Now I live in San Diego, it is not cold at night at all. My husband says to not worry about it, they are chickens after all and we are in the process of building a large coop/roosting space for all of them (we also have 3 more chicks at 9 weeks old now) that will probably be done in a few weeks time.

So my question is this - do I let them sleep wherever they feel happy or do I need to "train" them to sleep where I want them to sleep? Not sure what is right so I am looking for advise.

Thank you!
P.S. I have posted a picture of them up on the spot they keep roosting on so you have an idea of that I am describing.

 

[DobieLover]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
Because your run is not predator proof I would continue to lock them up at night to protect them until your big coop is done.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens did anyone say your coop is too small for all these
birds each bird should have about 4 square feet each

 

[KatkyCampbell]

Hello and welcome to BYC! Glad you joined.
Because your run is not predator proof I would continue to lock them up at night to protect them until your big coop is done.

Hi Tonya! Thank you for the feedback our run is predator proof, you just can't see the wire very well because I took the photo inside. It is fully enclosed with wire and not entry at the roofline and or at the floor. They are safe and sound in there 100%! I see in this picture it does look like it is all open, but it isn't

 

[KatkyCampbell]

Welcome to Backyard Chickens did anyone say your coop is too small for all these
birds each bird should have about 4 square feet each

Yes, like I said we built another coop for these two and the two ladies sleep in this coop they are on top of. I know that there will be plenty of coop space once our large one is done, I just don't know if they are ok to sleep on top of the roof or not? The run is fully enclosed, so they are in no danger from predators...

 

[Pork Pie]

Hi and welcome to BYC. I’d suggest that they are fine to roost on the roof. Here are some helpful links:

• Great go-to resource - Articles
• How to start a new thread
• Find other BYC members nearby using the links in my signature, below (turn your phone to landscape to see them).

Best wishes
Pork Pie

 

[chrissynemetz]

Hi and welcome to BYC! Chicken wire isn't actually predator proof. It keeps chickens in, but it won't keep the beasties out.

 

[Marie2020]

I'm sure you'll have this all worked out soon. But I would have to leave them on their perches for now.

It's good you have joined us and I'm looking forward to reading your posts.

 

[CrazyCochin]

WELCOME TO BYC!
We hope You find many answers to any questions you might!
It's a beautiful day for a new neighbor!

 

[drumstick diva]

Thank you for joining us at Backyard Chickens, you are very welcome here.