Roo? And how to teach to roost in coop?

[sillycmoy]

How do you teach them to perch, my 10 week olds still chick pile in the bottom of the coop, not in the nesting boxes, but just on the floor in the corner. They have 3 different heights of perches, so height shouldn't be the problem. They all perched in the brooder. Little farts.

 

[azygous]

The secret to teaching chicks to roost on a perch is to place them on it when it's almost too dark for them to see. This way, they're more likely to remain. If they do hop off, I just keep putting them back on until they stay.

When you do it this way, when it's too dark to see, they aren't confident enough to want to be stranded in the dark away from their mates. It's important, when you place them on the perch, that they're all touching each other. It just take two or three nights, and they're trained.

 

[sillycmoy]

Going to have to try it. Thanks

 

[can you hear me now?]

Agreed with last poster, they develop the habit pretty quickly. Just have to put them there.

 

[MiksMom]

last night update -- I herded the chicks to under the coop at dusk. they were less resistant this time- yeah! they put themselves into the coop and at like 11, I realized I hadn't closed their pop door so went out to do that and found nobody had roosted. They don't choose the nest boxes, just the floor, but I picked them up by flashlight light and set each on the roost. several ho pped right back off again but I think in the end must ended up staying on the roost, at least until I closed the door. lol.