one of my hens not jumping up on the roost at night

I don't personally think that she is sick, but just in case, you can make a thread about it on this forum!


Emergencies / Diseases / Injuries and Cures

 

AND!!!

 

Hi and welcome to BYC. If she's otherwise healthy and acting normally, I'd leave her to her own devices and not worry too much, but keep an eye on her.

Ct

 

Last one in, last one too roost...
She is a chicken and they do a lot better if we do not interfere with them so much...She will be fine.

 

I have a buff orpington who never roosts. She sleeps on the floor for the past 4 months. Nothing is wrong with her, she's fine. Just prefers the ground I guess. The rooster sleeps there too.

 

x2
The heavier birds seem to sleep on the floor or a lower roost. Nothing too worry about.

 

As everyone before me pointed out, she's probably fine. Chickens work things out for themselves. The only thing I'd add is that she might not like the roosts. What are you using for the roosts? Some folks like fat dowels, some use natural tree branches, some use 2x4s on the flat. Some birds prefer the flat roosts, others like the tree branches. If you want to experiment a little, try putting a different type of roost in there and see if she takes to it. Might not amount to anything, but it's something you can try.

Another thought -- I had a couple of hens that were the last ones in the coop and were usually walking around on the floor when I went out to shut up the coop. In chicken hierarchy, it can be quite important who roosts next to whom and I found that these hens were at the bottom of the pecking order and had a hard time finding a roosting spot that didn't start a chicken brawl. They ended up staying on the floor until it was almost too dark to see (chickens have very poor low-light vision) and everyone was settled in, then they'd hop up and find a corner to roost on without getting pecked. ...just a thought.