Not roosting "properly"

[shicken1icken]

I recently added these little buckets to my chickens roosting area but I went to check on them one night to see how they liked it. Only half of them sleep in them. The other half I found sleeping on top of the ferret cage we use to integrate new chickens with. As long as they are comfortable I suppose it is not a big deal where they sleep. But my concern comes in when they start laying. Will they prefer the black buckets as a nesting area when they start to lay?

 

[junebuggena]

I think you are a bit confused. That's not a roosting area. Chickens do not sleep in nests. They sleep on roosts, usually the highest point that they can get to. Roosts are chicken-sized perches. Nests are for eggs, not sleeping.

 

[centrarchid]

At some point, most chickens like to roost up in a location they contact nothing except with their feet and they can see all the way around like afforded by a tree branch. You buckets will be preferred as long as they do not make that mindset change or they get scared by some night time predator like an owl that disturbs them on the roost..

With respect to color of buckets in your setup, location might be overriding concern for the birds.

 

[shicken1icken]

I think you are a bit confused. That's not a roosting area. Chickens do not sleep in nests. They sleep on roosts, usually the highest point that they can get to. Roosts are chicken-sized perches. Nests are for eggs, not sleeping.

I guess I was confused! Thanks. That makes sense now.

 

[shicken1icken]

At some point, most chickens like to roost up in a location they contact nothing except with their feet and they can see all the way around like afforded by a tree branch. You buckets will be preferred as long as they do not make that mindset change or they get scared by some night time predator like an owl that disturbs them on the roost..

With respect to color of buckets in your setup, location might be overriding concern for the birds.

What about color and location?

 

[shicken1icken]

At some point, most chickens like to roost up in a location they contact nothing except with their feet and they can see all the way around like afforded by a tree branch. You buckets will be preferred as long as they do not make that mindset change or they get scared by some night time predator like an owl that disturbs them on the roost..

With respect to color of buckets in your setup, location might be overriding concern for the birds.

Also it makes sense then that it's the older ones roosting on the cage.