Pullets won't use roost bar.

[TexasChicken12]

Our 9 18 week old pullets won't all consistently use our roost bar, which is higher up than our nest box. When I go to check on them for the night there is usually 1 or 2 roosting on the nest box. Any help is appreciated!

 

[Free Feather]

Did you buy them as pullets? Is the roost lower than the nests?

 

[lazy gardener]

if the top of your nest boxes is flat, and you have the option to put a sloped top over the nest boxes, that might solve the problem. At least they're roosting on top of the boxes, and not IN them! If you go out every evening and kick them off the nest boxes, that should re-train them.

 

[TexasChicken12]

No, we got them as day- old chicks. We try to go out and put them on the roost bar every evening. That's a good idea! Thanks for your help.

 

[aart]

ON the nest box or IN the nest box?

I have an angled piece of wood on top of nests to prevent roosting there.
Roosts are 2x4, wide side up, nice, stable and comfy.

But sometimes you've got to 'train' them.

My experience was that I had some pullets that the older birds wouldn't let roost with them so the pullets wanted to roost in the nests. I put up another roost just a couple inches lower than the main roost and began removing the pullets from the nests after dark and putting them on their roost. Did that for a couple nights, then started going in at dusk and poking them in butt if they got into the nests(I have 'outside the coop' access to my nests boxes so this was easy). Pretty soon all I had to do was walk in and they would leave the nest and go to the roost so they didn't get poked in the butt. Took about 3 weeks total before they got in the habit of always roosting on the roosts instead of in the nests