Odd hens sleeping patterns + my rooster seems to have no control over his flock

[Aboodles]

(Sorry for any linguistic errors, not my first language)

I have a flock of 1 rooster and 6 hens. They live in a very big yard with a fence and many trees and whatnot. 2 or 3 of my hens along with the rooster climb up one of the trees and sleep on it a bit before sunset, around 7PM give or take.

Why do I let them sleep on trees? well, they have a small coop they only lay in but they never sleep in it, I never got around to building a bigger one and they seem to be doing fine. There are no predators except for stray cats where I live, and considering all my chickens are fully grown up and I don't plan to hatch any chicks, I think it's fine. Weather doesn't get extreme here either.

Alright so, here is the deal: The rest of the hens stay on the ground, they keep walking around it in the middle of the night, doing absolutely nothing, just wandering around. They eventually get tired, cramp up somewhere random, and sleep there, but really late, like, I am talking 1AM late. I am concerned for their wellbeing as they wake up in sync with the rest of the flock really early in the morning and I don't think that's enough sleep for them. They don't seem tired and they don't act oddly during the day though. Will they be fine? what's causing this? anything I can do about it?

Another thing is that my rooster doesn't seem to have any authority on the rest of the hens. The one I had before him was always in charge, all hens following him, he wouldn't eat until all of them have finished eating, would always sit by the hens laying.. etc. The new one just doesn't care, he just goes on with his day, very few hens following him, he doesn't make any sacrifices like my previous roo, and he has a hard time getting his ladies to let him mount them, he usually has to chase them around and pin them down to get to mate. Is it just the fact he's a new rooster or is he just a really bad one that should go / get replaced?

 

[Mrs. K]

How old is the rooster? If he is a year old, then I would get a different rooster. If he is 6 months old, he is just figuring it out.

And how dark does it get, is there a lot of artificial light being near your set up? That may really be the key in the up all night birds, however, if they are acting all right, eating and laying consistently - I would not worry about it.

Mrs K

 

[Aboodles]

How old is the rooster? If he is a year old, then I would get a different rooster. If he is 6 months old, he is just figuring it out.

I am unsure how old he is, but you can check
https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ter-make-your-hen-flocks-merge.1212764/page-3
I attached his pic there before, he is one of the roos with speckles, the one with a white neck to be exact. The pic is 4 months old, maybe estimate his age based on that?

And how dark does it get, is there a lot of artificial light being near your set up? That may really be the key in the up all night birds, however, if they are acting all right, eating and laying consistently - I would not worry about it.

Mrs K

It gets very dark at night, but I have artificial lights all over the house's gates/walls though, and my house is the only one that stays lit outside at night in the neighborhood. Still confused as for why some of them manage to sleep and the others dont

 

[Mrs. K]

Shut those off and see what happens, chickens are like anything else, while they are all chickens, they have different tolerances for the light. I think if you shut off the light, they would go to bed...but if you want the light on, don't worry about it, I think they are fine.

The rooster to me, looks less than a year, but it is quite difficult to tell once they get full size. I would wait another 6 months, and then if he is not a better rooster, cull him, or if an opportunity for a better rooster comes along, well cull him then.

 

[aart]

How old is the rooster? If he is a year old, then I would get a different rooster. If he is 6 months old, he is just figuring it out.

And how dark does it get, is there a lot of artificial light being near your set up? That may really be the key in the up all night birds, however, if they are acting all right, eating and laying consistently - I would not worry about it.

Mrs K

Agrees^^^
Also wonders, did your old rooster get everyone up into the trees to sleep?

Your linguistic skills are fine, they surpass many who's first language is english.

 

[Aboodles]

Agrees^^^
Also wonders, did your old rooster get everyone up into the trees to sleep?

Your linguistic skills are fine, they surpass many who's first language is english.

The hens who sleep up the trees now are the ones I had when I had the old rooster, the new ones I got are the ones that won't sleep in the trees.

And thank you!

 

[aart]

How old is the younger group?
They may catch on eventually, and so might the cock/erel.

 

[Aboodles]

How old is the younger group?
They may catch on eventually, and so might the cock/erel.

I rescued them from a place that was gonna sell them as food, they look the same age as the other hens I have and I have seen some of them laying. One of the new group I bought sleeps on the trees btw