One small jump for chickens, one giant mess for the man that cares for them

[Joe L]

Hello, BYC family! Happy Easter!

I had read in a book that I own about raising chickens, to put a "shelf"/ lower ceiling over the roost to hold in heat in the winter. Well, I got to thinking and realized I had a lot of room in my coop that the chickens couldn't use so I created a "U" shape platform all the way around my coop and over the roost to hold heat in in the winter and they could use the "U" shaped platform as extra floor space for them to escape from one another in the winter especially this winter since this spring I picked up 8 new chicks that I'm raising separately, but are in view of the old flock, and hope to integrate as one flock. My "disaster" I guess, is that the flock has abandoned the roost, and now "roost" on the platform and sleep laying down and get all covered in their own poo. It's not at all what I had originally expected.

So, should I make a roost on top of the platform to encourage them to actually roost instead of laying down on the platform? Any ideas would help. I've tried looking at the coop designs that are posted on this site, but for some reason my computer isn't showing pictures. Thanks.

Joe

 

[XxMingirlxX]

The purpose of roosting is ventilation, while sleeping on the floor high up isn't savoury for us it's perfectly fine for them. Chickens like to sleep at the highest point they can get to in the coop, so if you do want to stop them sleeping on the platform, moving the roost to a higher position than the new platform is a good idea.

Hope that helps! : )

 

[sunflour]

So glad you have joined us.

I thought I have read all textbooks on raising chickens, and never came across anyone mentioning that shelf..

But they most breeds are quite cold tolerant and need ventilation. I agree with OP that they covet the highest perch. I would suggest removing the shelf and if you need additional roosts for the new ones, make all at the same level to prevent fighting over positions.

Good luck with integration of the new ones, there are a number of forum discussions and Learning center articles to help with that.

 

[drumstick diva]

Nice to meet you Joe. You gotten good advice and suggestions already, so I will just say, Welcome to Backyard chickens, so glad you joined the flock.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC!

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[Joe L]

Ok. I'll have to remove the shelf and add some more roosts. Thank you very much.