Roosting at three weeks old all night?

[ChickieMama67]

Hello! I have 10 baby chicks that I got from Meyer Hatchery that will be 4 weeks old tomorrow. They are an adorable, healthy, quirky little bunch! This past week they are all roosting at night. There is so much drama and chirping when they do this and they seem to stay up later into the night than any of the chicks I’ve raised before. I have a little red puck light in the coop for them at night. The thing that worries me is the little Buff Orpington (we named her Dumplin) gets down off the roost and can’t get back up and sleeps on the floor. Is there anything I should do? I have a camera in their coop to keep an eye and did go out there and help her up, but she jumped back off afterwards. Has anyone had chicks roost at such a young age? My older girls never did til they were much bigger. We just put the roost in there so they could get used to it being in there. And they are all almost fully feathered already!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

If they are mostly feathered out than most will want to roost. I've seen them that young roosting. They tend to sleep in a pile when they are colder. Sounds like the one is the only one that wants to sleep in a pile. How high up are the roosts? It does take some skill to sleep on a roost. Perhaps the one is still working on it, and doesn't feel confident yet

 

[thecatumbrella]

Wow, I've had the opposite problem. Mine piled together for what felt like forever. I will say, some chickens like to "reset" over and over again at bedtime. They eventually run out of daylight to do so, and then have to settle for a mediocre sleeping position.

 

[ChickieMama67]

If they are mostly feathered out than most will want to roost. I've seen them that young roosting. They tend to sleep in a pile when they are colder. Sounds like the one is the only one that wants to sleep in a pile. How high up are the roosts? It does take some skill to sleep on a roost. Perhaps the one is still working on it, and doesn't feel confident yet

The roost is 12 inches off the floor. I just feel so bad for her! I’m glad to hear that you’ve seen them roosting that young. When I google it, I mostly see the 8 week old timeframe. Was making me think maybe I should take the roost out. lol. Thanks!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Has anyone had chicks roost at such a young age?

I've had a broody hen take her chicks to the roosts at 2 weeks of age. That's the youngest I've seen chicks sleep all night on the roosts. They had no trouble sleeping up there.

When I have chicks in a coop without any adults around most broods start sleeping on the roosts around 10 to 12 weeks of age. I've had some start at 5 weeks, some much later. Each brood is unique and do their own thing. My roosts are higher than yours and I'm sure our coops look a lot different. I do not see anything threatening or strange about what yours are doing. You are dealing with living animals, you never know for sure what they will do.

The thing that worries me is the little Buff Orpington (we named her Dumplin) gets down off the roost and can’t get back up and sleeps on the floor. Is there anything I should do?

Definitely something you should do. Select an appropriate fruit or berry (based on your tastes) and serve it over a bowl of vanilla ice cream. Then chill. Leave her alone. When she is ready to roost she will roost. Leaving them alone is often very hard for some people to do but it is very often the best way for their health and wellbeing. Just give them time to be chickens.

 

[FarmerGirl101]

The roost is 12 inches off the floor. I just feel so bad for her! I’m glad to hear that you’ve seen them roosting that young. When I google it, I mostly see the 8 week old timeframe. Was making me think maybe I should take the roost out. lol. Thanks!

What you can do is put another roost at an angle with one side touching the ground and the other resting on the elevated roost. That's what I do for a few weeks. Mine start to roost fairly early on. We put the roost in maybe a few days after we get them. Worse comes worst is they don't use it until they are older but I always like giving them the option too.