I am constantly trying to simplify methods for getting birds to roost where I desire them to roost. Normally roosting behavior is directed by mother hen or harem master which has some cool behaviors related to those situations. I can also get them to roost where I want by either confinement in desired roost location for a few days or imprinting them on a box and moving box slowly over several days for new location. Hen / harem master generally have chicks roosting up with them by 5 weeks which is earlier than without adults helping.
Now I would like to take advantage of how the harem master / flock leader does it. I raise multiple cohorts of brooder reared chicks each year and they spend 8 to 12 weeks roosting on ground. Normally I start moving process around 8 weeks. Problem I am having now and will have more frequently in future is the number of juveniles in a cohort. The number is to large for imprinting box and the remote roost I have been using. Birds actually overload roost supports. Now I am going to switch to using 10' x 10' dog kennel pens. They should be able to support 100 birds easily and not be as prone to overheating as a coop. Move must be realized before birds get wild ideas about roosting in trees. During first month of roosting up Great Horned and even Barred Owls can pack off juveniles and my dogs have a hard time doing something about it.
I will be messing with a group of 10 to 13 week old juveniles to see what I can do to get move made where they move as a group from pen enclosed by electrified poultry netting to pen that is about 75 feet away. For last week the juveniles have been loafing up about 4 feet off ground and about 1/2 dozen actually roost in same exposed location. Balance roost on ground in high weeds. What appears to be the dominant cockerel now enters pen and looks around at roost poles set for them but he eventually goes back to roost with bulk of broodmates on ground. He I think will be key to getting this to work.
Now I would like to take advantage of how the harem master / flock leader does it. I raise multiple cohorts of brooder reared chicks each year and they spend 8 to 12 weeks roosting on ground. Normally I start moving process around 8 weeks. Problem I am having now and will have more frequently in future is the number of juveniles in a cohort. The number is to large for imprinting box and the remote roost I have been using. Birds actually overload roost supports. Now I am going to switch to using 10' x 10' dog kennel pens. They should be able to support 100 birds easily and not be as prone to overheating as a coop. Move must be realized before birds get wild ideas about roosting in trees. During first month of roosting up Great Horned and even Barred Owls can pack off juveniles and my dogs have a hard time doing something about it.
I will be messing with a group of 10 to 13 week old juveniles to see what I can do to get move made where they move as a group from pen enclosed by electrified poultry netting to pen that is about 75 feet away. For last week the juveniles have been loafing up about 4 feet off ground and about 1/2 dozen actually roost in same exposed location. Balance roost on ground in high weeds. What appears to be the dominant cockerel now enters pen and looks around at roost poles set for them but he eventually goes back to roost with bulk of broodmates on ground. He I think will be key to getting this to work.
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