Not using the perches

[lonna]

So I took some of ya'lls advice and it seemed to work. I placed them all, one by one, on the roosting sites we built... They first held onto my fingers, but then jumped to the perch site...tonight about 1/2 did it on their own. Thx for the tips.

 

[Woodi]

but i have some which are 7 years old they roost but i have some pol they dont, i have some just over a year and they dont roost how can i get them to. they just sleep in the nest boxes

I think it might be that your nest boxes are too big and comfortable. Mine slept in their nest boxes until I got some of those metal nest boxes made for chickens. They look too small for my large chickens, but I was assured that they would use them - and they do! They lay their eggs in the nest boxes, but perch like they're supposed to. Naturally these nest boxes won't work if you are using them for the hens to raise babies in, but if they are just for laying eggs, they're great and solve that problem.

 

[Woodi]

but i have some which are 7 years old they roost but i have some pol they dont, i have some just over a year and they dont roost how can i get them to. they just sleep in the nest boxes

I think it might be that your nest boxes are too big and comfortable. Mine slept in their nest boxes until I got some of those metal nest boxes made for chickens. They look too small for my large chickens, but I was assured that they would use them - and they do! They lay their eggs in the nest boxes, but perch like they're supposed to. Naturally these nest boxes won't work if you are using them for the hens to raise babies in, but if they are just for laying eggs, they're great and solve that problem.

 

[Woodi]

but i have some which are 7 years old they roost but i have some pol they dont, i have some just over a year and they dont roost how can i get them to. they just sleep in the nest boxes

I think it might be that your nest boxes are too big and comfortable. Mine slept in their nest boxes until I got some of those metal nest boxes made for chickens. They look too small for my large chickens, but I was assured that they would use them - and they do! They lay their eggs in the nest boxes, but perch like they're supposed to. Naturally these nest boxes won't work if you are using them for the hens to raise babies in, but if they are just for laying eggs, they're great and solve that problem.

 

[Woodi]

Ok, I'm really not crazy. I have been trying to attach a picture to my first response, and it isn't working.......... That's why there are so many of the same posts!

 

[HandsomeRyan]

My chickens just started roosting within the last couple of days and they hatched in early March so it took them about 2 months to start. As with all things I'm sure different birds in different situations will do things at different rates.

 

[ashem0]

Mine are just over about 12mths and they still don't use their perch. They also prefer the 'worm tray' as a nesting box to the real nest my husband painstakingly installed in the wall of the coop. I tried putting them on the perch in the dark, for weeks - they stayed there but never caught on that they should do it themselves. Frustrating.

 

[Debbiesue]

My chicks are nine weeks old and were transferred to their out door run and coop yesterday. Last night we put them to bed however today they managed on their own. When I checked on them just now they were huddled in a corner rather than perching. I was going to leave it a while before putting them on the perches as I think they may keep warmer huddled together.

My original hybrids never perched no matter how many times we lifted them on. However when we introduced some new birds and taught them to perch the originals joined them!