Pullet introductions - is this normal?

[Ridgerunner]

Regarding the roosting at night and the set up in the henhouse, it's 4' wide and 3' deep so I don't have a lot of room to space out the second roosting bar by a few feet.

No, too tight. You can't get the separation you would need. The purpose of the second roost was to give them somewhere to go that is not your nests until they are sleeping on the main roost with the others. Since what you have is working without them hurting each other I'd live with what you have until they all sleep together.

 

[dadimari]

If that's the spacing, that's going to be tough - the roosts will be too close to the walls and likely too close together as well.

Is there a way to run 2 roosts across the shorter 3' depth? (Leave the brackets for the 4' long roost if you want, you can likely switch back to a single roost once the younger birds are a bit older and more accepted by the hens). I see you have the access door there but if you build a leg for that side as support, sort of like this: https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ng-in-nest-boxes.1134399/page-2#post-17749535

I could potentially do that, but below the access door is a drop down door for cleaning out the litter and everything is lined in about 1/8" plastic which I don't want to screw into. I could make a free standing support that would get buried in the litter though. I would need to get new roosting bars to use the other way since I don't want to cut down my 4' bar if I might need to reuse it. I'm wondering if it's worth all of this if it will be a matter of time for all 4 of them to share the current roosting bar. With winter coming, are the hens more likely to welcome the pullets on the roosting bar so they can snuggle to stay warm overnight?

 

[rosemarythyme]

I could make a free standing support that would get buried in the litter though.

Well that would be fine. Some folks use sawhorses for roosts, for example. So a fully removable, detachable roost set up like this shape should work (darker green indicates the supports which can't be seen from this camera angle):

I would need to get new roosting bars to use the other way since I don't want to cut down my 4' bar if I might need to reuse it.

Fair enough, I wouldn't cut it either. If you have branches and maybe some wood scrap around, that's the most cost effective way to build this.

I'm wondering if it's worth all of this if it will be a matter of time for all 4 of them to share the current roosting bar. With winter coming, are the hens more likely to welcome the pullets on the roosting bar so they can snuggle to stay warm overnight?

Chickens don't really think that way. More likely if they're all sharing the bar, it's because they've made enough peace to share, not because they're wanting to snuggle.

 

[dadimari]

Well that would be fine. Some folks use sawhorses for roosts, for example. So a fully removable, detachable roost set up like this shape should work (darker green indicates the supports which can't be seen from this camera angle):

View attachment 3975562

Fair enough, I wouldn't cut it either. If you have branches and maybe some wood scrap around, that's the most cost effective way to build this.

Chickens don't really think that way. More likely if they're all sharing the bar, it's because they've made enough peace to share, not because they're wanting to snuggle.

Okay, thanks. I didn't know if it was their natural instinct to huddle together during colder nights. Thanks for the suggestions for the temporary roosting bars. I'll look into building something.