Not Roosting ...

[MelissaTXRn]

Mine will however sit on the roost pole for short amounts of time.

 

[Urchin]

No roosting here. They range in age from six to twelve weeks and they sleep in a pile by the door to the yard. I don't even have nest boxes in there yet. But like every one else's, they're perching all over everything in the yard -- the feeder, the waterer, a stump that's in there ....

 

[Scrambled8]

Mine do the EXACT same thing and it drove me crazy at first. After awhile I decide it couldnt hurt if it was just ONE box. I tryed blocking them off and did not succeed. Those chickens will do anything to sleep together. Maybe eventually they will learn, especially when they grow bigger and cant fit.

 

[MelissaTXRn]

Hahaha! Silly things

 

[RoseMarie1]

Mine are about 6-7 weeks old and they still wad up in a pile on the floor. They had a roost in their brooder box and they have an awesome one in their big pen they wont use. They use it all day long but at night they pile up together in the corner. They wanted to sleep in the door where they could see everything since two sides are tin but I changed that right quick because of predators. I have heard a coon can eat them through a fence so I didn't want them in that area. I figure it'll hit them one day to get on the roost at night time. lol

 

[Urchin]

The chickens spent little time outside today because they were busy playing on the roost in the coop, treating it like it was a brand-new jungle gym. There were chickens all over it today for most of the day like it's the best thing in the world.

 

[dokam]

how high was your roost off the ground? I have a roost that is about 3 feet off the ground. my girls are about 10 weeks old. I placed them on the roost last night, but they couldn't/wouldn't get down this morning.

 

[3riverschick]

Quote: That's too high unless you have Guinea hens . Large fowl should not be more than 18 inches off the floor. Young chicks do fine without roosting. As young chicks, their keels are still gristle. Letting them roost a a very young age runs the risk of them resting on the breast bone and developing a crooked keel. Or spraining a ankle, breaking a leg.
I once got a trio of older Speckled Sussex from a lady who couldn't care for them any more. The one hen arrived with terribly crippled feet. It was really sad. The previous owner told me she had her roosts 5 feet off the ground for the Guinea hens. That the Sussex used the same roosts. This poor large fowl hen had injured and crippled her feet by using these high roosts. My Light Sussex don't have roosts at any age. They do just fine nestling down in the shavings to sleep.
Best,
Karen in western PA, USA

 

[RoseMarie1]

Well I just posted a few days ago on one of these roosting threads and don't know which one it was. Am so excited because I walked out to the chicks pen tonight to close them up for the night and the WHOLE top row of their roost was FULL of chicks! I fell out laughing it was sooooo stinkin' cute! I WISH I'd taken a pic! They had the whole thing covered and you couldn't squeeze in another chick! lol Then the next row down from that one had a bunch on it. Then the others were trying to sleep in front of the door again! UGHHH have moved them and moved them and they're bound and determined to sleep there. They did move into the corner when I had to go inside the pen and close the back gate. So hoping they stay in the corner so they will be protected by the tin on both sides. So I only have 8-10 left on the floor of their pen that isn't using the roost.



OPPS I see my post up there now in this one. lol We looked at the calender today and some of them are 10 weeks old and some are 8 weeks old.

 

[Jersey Boy]

Hi. I have 3 RIR's and 3 Welsummers. All are 20 weeks old. Still haven't started laying (but that's a different thread. Lol). I closed off the nest boxes until they were 18 weeks old. As soon as the nest boxes were open they went from sleeping in the corner of the coop to the nest boxes. The roosts are approximately12 inches off of the floor because my coop is only 3.5 feet high. The nest boxes are level with the ground so the roost bars are about even with the top of the boxes (so they are higher than the boxes). I have seen them using the roost before so I know they have no problems getting up and down. I've placed them onto the roost after it got dark several times but they jump right down. I have 3 nest boxes that all 6 birds cram into every night. Every morning I have to replace the bedding in the boxes because they are completely filled with poop. I have complete faith that they should start laying any second now and don't know what else to do.