Official BYC Poll: What Do You Do To Make Your Chicks/Pullets Roost?

[Perris]

Mine are raised by a broody within the coop, so have roosts available from day 1. I leave it to the broody to decide when and where her chicks should sleep; usually they sleep in the nest box under her until they're well feathered, then move out and onto the roosts.

 

[Ascholten]

The only problem with letting them roost where they want is when they decide they like the nesting box instead and it's full of poop every morning because of late night campers. I find that going out a few nights after they are settled in opening the lid and unceremoniously dumping them onto the floor of the pen stops that in a night or two, and they are right back up on the roost where they belong.

Aaron

 

[Cauliflowaah]

I made this for my babies from some scraps and dowels I had around

 

[Emelyn]

View attachment 2729866
I made this for my babies from some scraps and dowels I had around

That's beautiful but is this a temporary or permanent roost?

 

[Cauliflowaah]

That's beautiful but is this a temporary or permanent roost?

This was just thier baby chick roost from the separate brooder before they went to the coop. They have real roosts in the coop of course

 

[Emelyn]

This was just thier baby chick roost from the separate brooder before they went to the coop. They have real roosts in the coop of course

Ah okay good

 

[WallyG74]

As soon as they go out to the big brooder, training begins. When all eggs have hatched (usually a 2 day ordeal), they go out to the big girl/boy brooder attached to the main coop. There they can see the adult chickens doing their daily routine including going up to the roost at night. The brooder is also equipped with 3 levels of chick roosts. By the time they are ready to come out of there, they are all strutting their stuff on the top roost!

 

[papajoesfarm]

I have a dedicated brooder coop, which has a flat 2"x4" "high roost". I also built a "little girls" roost out of 1"x 2" and wood glue. When I start a new brood, I put in the "little girls" roost, and they inevitably start using it within a few days. One starts, and they all follow along. After a few weeks one will start using the "high roost", and they all follow her. Or him, which is often the case on the "high roost". If one turns out to be a roo, or more than one, they seem to tend to be the first ones to use it. By Week 6, they tend to all sleep on the "high roost". At that point I take out the "little girls" roost.

 

[ForTheLoveOfSilkies]

All I own are Silkies and they all roost. They enjoy roosting on branches during the day and all roost at night.
Mother hens teach their chicks to roost by 2 or 3 months old.
..They shock me sometimes when I walk in the coop and see them up so high!


... Taking turns to fly/jump off the stump...

 

[One Lucky Momma]

I made a couple of these for their brooder and they were on them within the day. Everyone adjusted to roosting in the Big House when the time came, except for Littlejohn, our mystery chick who turned out to be a Cochin rooster. Over time I learned to expect his overall development would be slower than that of the smaller birds. It was obvious he wanted to be up on the roost with the other birds so I built him a little ladder. He learned very quickly how to navigate his way up.