Roosting chicken

[david hunter]

Chickens will not go up on the roost at night. They pile into a nesting box all 16 Is this normal?

 

[chickencraz]

Yes. My first 6 shoved themselves into a tiny nesting box. We later combined it with another and they kept sleeping there.

 

[QueenMisha]

How old are they? Young chicks will not roost. Most birds begin to roost at 10-12 weeks. I would recommend blocking off the nesting boxes until they are older, since they can easily learn the bad habit of roosting in nesting boxes, resulting in yucky eggs when they do begin to lay.

 

[drumstick diva]

You want to break them of that - nobody likes poopy eggs - ugh.

 

[ashbypad]

For 2 weeks we went out at dusk and put all the chicks up into the roosting box - after 2 weeks we went out at dusk and they had all gone to bed themselves! It takes a little patience but once they go to bed by themselves you'll never find them anywhere else when it gets dark