Pullets not using roost bars

[emyancey]

Chickens don't start to roost at night until they're about 10 weeks old or older. My roost bars are all the same height and some roost and some puddle on the droppings board and they switch it up depending on the temp. They just turned 10 weeks old.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Chickens don't start to roost at night until they're about 10 weeks old or older. My roost bars are all the same height and some roost and some puddle on the droppings board and they switch it up depending on the temp. They just turned 10 weeks old.

Eh, not quite. If there's adult birds they'll often do it sooner - latest I've had chicks roosting was 7 weeks (that was without any adults), and earliest was around 4 weeks.

I caught my recent chicks (5.5 weeks old) on coop cam putting themselves on the roost: https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ed-store-to-coop.1617102/page-5#post-27711325

OP if you want you can manually put them on the roost to show them that's where you want them. It may take them a couple weeks to actually do it themselves, or they might figure it out from a single night. I'd also put stuff on the ledge they're currently sitting on to prevent them from using that as a roost.

 

[Fetz]

If that ladder looking thing is the roost bars, then the birds on the upper roosts will poop onto the birds on the lower roost. 18" apart horizontally is what is recommended. I would put something on the ledge they are sitting on so they can't sit there.

We did a lot of research about designing a roost bar and multiple sources said to space bars 12" apart horizontally. Including "Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens".

I have heard differing opinions about how the bars should be though. Some (including Storey's) say to use a 2x2 or closet rod. Some said chickens should be able to roost with their feet flat.

Perhaps we'll try placing them on there before bed tomorrow. In the meantime I stapled some old bedding wrap down onto their self-chosen roost to keep the mess more manageable.

 

[WingItRanch]

Hi all,

First time chicken owner here. Our chicks are now 5 weeks old. We put them in their coop about 1.5 weeks ago. They all seem very healthy and we haven't had any major issues so far. The coop is a converted barn stall and we built a run off the back.

Our only problem is that all 19 of them cram onto the ledge in front of the pop door to roost at night instead of using the roost bars we made. Before that they were roosting in front of the nest boxes (out of the camera frame). We have seen them on the roost bars from time to time, including the very top bar, but they never stay there long. We put a tarp underneath to catch poop but they're making a huge mess on the ledge every night, which is really the only reason we have an issue with it.

Are they cold? It's been pretty hot the last two weeks but nightly lows have started to dip back down to 60-70⁰F.

Is there something about the roost bars that they don't like? Too steep, to wide, is the tarp an issue?

Or are they just being chickens?

I'm a new chicken owner too and was also curious about why my chicks weren't using the roosting bars when I moved them to the coop at 6 weeks. They just crammed together in a little dog pile. They definitely weren't cold so I think it was for comfort. Then one day around 8 weeks old- surprise! All 11 were perched on the bars as if they've been doing it since birth. So just chickens being chickens!

 

[rosemarythyme]

We did a lot of research about designing a roost bar and multiple sources said to space bars 12" apart horizontally. Including "Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens".

I have heard differing opinions about how the bars should be though. Some (including Storey's) say to use a 2x2 or closet rod. Some said chickens should be able to roost with their feet flat.

My usual recommendation is 14-16" apart from one another horizontally, especially if you have breeds that tend to be on the bigger side (conversely for bantams you can probably have them closer together) - the idea being you don't want birds on one roost to be able to reach out and peck others on another roost.

Chickens will attempt to roost on almost anything but as a general rule anything that's not slippery, not sharp and 2" or over in width/diameter will be accepted by them. I do 2" diameter branches because they're free. For a more detailed experiment: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-perch-experiment.74272/

 

[Abborgialli]

If that ladder looking thing is the roost bars, then the birds on the upper roosts will poop onto the birds on the lower roost. 18" apart horizontally is what is recommended. I would put something on the ledge they are sitting on so they can't sit there.

^^^good advice... they can flutter their way up and make the jump. It's impressive. I remember the first time I saw them do it.

And the tarp may be too close (they may not like the crunchiness) right now. As they grow bigger their butts will hang off...I would try taking down the plastic because they may not be stable enough for it yet. They will push each other around when they get bigger trying to reach the highest point. We have this same style of roost and they started on it after a couple weeks. 18" horizontal spacing is a must.
I added a litter box below because I didn't want to worry about hens falling or sliding down and getting stuck on slick plastic. Others use a poop board. IMO its easier to clean and it's very useful if you're harvesting for compost.

A couple other tips I saw on other posts-
*use a flat surface like you did for the roosting bars (Ie 2x4) and round the edges. If you live somewhere that gets cold they'll need to cover their toes with their feathers. The only way to accomplish this is with wider boards like 2x4.
*make sure the roost bars are above the nesting boxes or they will roost in those and messy them up.

I hope that helps. I really like that design, personally. Looks like a nice set up for them.

 

[FunnyBunny89]

We did a lot of research about designing a roost bar and multiple sources said to space bars 12" apart horizontally. Including "Storey's Guide to Raising Chickens".

I have heard differing opinions about how the bars should be though. Some (including Storey's) say to use a 2x2 or closet rod. Some said chickens should be able to roost with their feet flat.

Perhaps we'll try placing them on there before bed tomorrow. In the meantime I stapled some old bedding wrap down onto their self-chosen roost to keep the mess more manageable.

Hi! I did a lot of reading and the thing is, everyone has their way of doing it. I've used two by fours, two by twos, and even a tree branch. The branch won preference, but the other boards were sufficient before I found a suitable branch. I made sure to sand the board edges, and I put them in vertically, so the birds weren't flat footed but instead could easily grip the board and they MUCH preferred that to the flat boards I started with. You should just try different things for a few days at a time and see what they gravitate towards.

 

[FunnyBunny89]

Hi all,

First time chicken owner here. Our chicks are now 5 weeks old. We put them in their coop about 1.5 weeks ago. They all seem very healthy and we haven't had any major issues so far. The coop is a converted barn stall and we built a run off the back.

Our only problem is that all 19 of them cram onto the ledge in front of the pop door to roost at night instead of using the roost bars we made. Before that they were roosting in front of the nest boxes (out of the camera frame). We have seen them on the roost bars from time to time, including the very top bar, but they never stay there long. We put a tarp underneath to catch poop but they're making a huge mess on the ledge every night, which is really the only reason we have an issue with it.

Are they cold? It's been pretty hot the last two weeks but nightly lows have started to dip back down to 60-70⁰F.

Is there something about the roost bars that they don't like? Too steep, to wide, is the tarp an issue?

Or are they just being chickens?

Here are pics of my latest set up. With each new board I added, they always seemed to prefer the skinnier boards until I got this branch in there. They like to curl their feet under their bellies.

 

[FunnyBunny89]

Hi all,

First time chicken owner here. Our chicks are now 5 weeks old. We put them in their coop about 1.5 weeks ago. They all seem very healthy and we haven't had any major issues so far. The coop is a converted barn stall and we built a run off the back.

Our only problem is that all 19 of them cram onto the ledge in front of the pop door to roost at night instead of using the roost bars we made. Before that they were roosting in front of the nest boxes (out of the camera frame). We have seen them on the roost bars from time to time, including the very top bar, but they never stay there long. We put a tarp underneath to catch poop but they're making a huge mess on the ledge every night, which is really the only reason we have an issue with it.

Are they cold? It's been pretty hot the last two weeks but nightly lows have started to dip back down to 60-70⁰F.

Is there something about the roost bars that they don't like? Too steep, to wide, is the tarp an issue?

Or are they just being chickens?

Also! My chicks were roosting as early as 3 weeks on low bamboo stalks. As they got bigger, they graduated to the higher boards. They all started using the higher boards by 5-6 weeks old.

My whole discovery process led me back to thinking about how they evolved their feet to sleep in trees, and that explains why their toes are so long and skinny. Whatever works, I guess, but mine definitely showed a preference for anything that wasn't wide and flat.

 

[fowltemptress]

My whole discovery process led me back to thinking about how they evolved their feet to sleep in trees, and that explains why their toes are so long and skinny. Whatever works, I guess, but mine definitely showed a preference for anything that wasn't wide and flat.

Interesting! My birds seek out height, the highest being most preferred, and widest. The wider the better, seemingly. I think what they'd really want is for me to dispense with the roosts and just build them a second story so they can snooze on its floor.