Perching & Nesting

[MichellesChickens]

My 9 new girls arrived today, he said they are about 2 yrs old. He said when he got them when they were about 6 mths, they didn't have perches, so even though he built them one, they preferred to either sleep on the ground or in the nest boxes. We put perches in the same height as my other coop and now I'm wondering if we should make something much lower to the ground or just wait and see, maybe one they are all combined in the same area the other girls will teach them how to perch? Their nest boxes were also lower then the ones we built. Should I just wait and see how it goes? They only had about 1 hr here tonight before dark, so they didn't get to check out much or get to comfortable yet.

 

[aart]

I'd give them some time, but also would block the nests to prevent them sleeping in them.
How high are your roosts?
Wouldn't hurt to make a lower roost.

 

[Penpal]

If you have a very low roost, like 6 to 8 inches high, they may try it out. Once they do, they will probably try out the higher roost, since chickens like to be king of the mountain.

 

[MichellesChickens]

I checked today and they are 13" and 28", the girls in the other coop sleep on the high one. The new girls did indeed sleep on the floor all night. They did check out the nest boxes today and rearranged the straw in all 4 of them and one even laid an egg.