Older hens won’t allow pullets to roost

[Lil Chix]

We have 4 barred rocks about 5 months old and a mixed flock of 4 hens that are 4 months old. Our barred rocks now won’t let the younger ones up to roost. They immediately peck them off. We put a lower roost bar in but they opt to sleep all snuggled together in one of the nesting boxes which I understand is not a good idea. I saw a suggestion of putting a partition in to seperate the hens, but what would be an example? Does it need to be plastic, wood, or would some kind of fabric work good enough?

 

[CluckerFamily]

When you added the lower roost, is it lower than the nesting boxes. If it is, they will opt to be in a higher position which would be the nesting boxes.
I would add another roost 18" from the top roost and at the same height. They will work out their pecking order.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I saw a suggestion of putting a partition in to seperate the hens, but what would be an example? Does it need to be plastic, wood, or would some kind of fabric work good enough?

I've seen everything from plywood to recycled feed bags. Mostly just needs to be opaque because out of sight, out of mind.

 

[LateBirdFarms]

Does it need to be plastic, wood, or would some kind of fabric work good enough?

I would not suggest anything of soft plastic, they may tend to pick it apart and eat it, and then your troubles might be worse than just a roosting one... tight weave fabric would be alright, as long as it is opaque or very close too it Rosemary's suggestion of a feed bag would work perfectly, you can use wood, but wood can be pricey and there are plenty of options that won't close you a dime. The hope is that the partition won't be permanent as your flock begins to work out its proper pecking order as the littles get up to the same size as the bigs.

 

[LateBirdFarms]

Is your lower roost somewhere the higher birds can poop on them through the night? You may be able to train them to use the lower roost, if that's easier, but likely there will be some hissy fits later on when everyone is of the same size and maturity,

 

[TARDIS37379]

I’ve built and bought roost rack stands. When I last introduced pullers, I put a separate rack on the other side of the coop that was partially blocked visually. That solved the problem and within a couple weeks, the pecking order readjusted

 

[aart]

We have 4 barred rocks about 5 months old and a mixed flock of 4 hens that are 4 months old. Our barred rocks now won’t let the younger ones up to roost.

Did they let them up before, what changed?
How long have they been sharing a coop?

Pics of inside coop showing roosts would help immensely here.

 

[Lil Chix]

Okay.....the lowest roost is below the nesting box level even though it's on the opposite side of the coop. It was only 2" off the bottom of the coop. We moved that to about 18" off the floor. We are also going to use a towel with a spring loaded curtain road to separate them this evening. If that works, they should all be able to roost on the tallest roost bars. I think we may have to block off the nesting boxes too, but we will see how tonight goes. It helps that the older ones go to be earlier than the younger ones, that's for sure.