roosting in doorway

[mbshan08]

i dont pin my chickens up at night, they have a run attacted to the coop. They wont use their roosting pole. They want to sleep in the doorway into the coop. And then in the morning their bottoms are a mess from poo. I thought maybe their roosting pole wasnt high enough so i had my husband raise it up to about 1.5-2 feet off the floor and they still are not wanting to use it. Any ideas?

 

[aoxa]

What breed are your chickens?

 

[mbshan08]

i'm not sure...mixed breed

 

[aoxa]

i'm not sure...mixed breed

I was asking because some breeds are more prone to roosting in odd locations. IE: Silkies and crested birds.

Do you have a light in their coop? They could be waiting until it is too dark to enter and roost properly. My teenagers are like this. The light inside the coop has been a big help.

 

[NovaAman]

OK... how old are your chickens? I have some brooder babies that are only just learning to roost. I think when they have a Mama chicken that teaches them to roost, they do it faster. I had to put some of mine up on the roost so they'd know what it was there for. Once a few started, they all started.

Some birds, like silkie will roost on the floor, or on very very low roosts. I however have a silkie who roosts 5 feet up, and his lady love, she roosts on top of the nest boxes. I have front open nest boxes not top open, so poo is not a problem...

I also have some that roost in the uppermost places that you'd think they couldn't get, but they do...

They may also prefer to roost in the door of the coop if the location is cooler, better air... I have a summer coop. Only a few birds actually use the enclosed coops this time of year. By summer coop... I am in Michigan. This summer has been uncomfortably hot. I took my winter run, added half walls just at the tops of the run are to keep the wind from hitting the birds, and the bottom of the walls are 2 layers of fencing, and then a layer of plastic net, 24 feet of roost space. I put a few birds up there one night, and with in a week, ALL the birds from the 3 different coops discovered it, and have not been back in the coops all summer, the coops are just unbelievably hot even with the doors open, vents and fans...

If your run is secure, predator safe, and I do mean SAFE, top covered and apron-ed... Then why not put roosts out in it, then move them back into the coop in the cold months... Just a thought.

 

[aoxa]

OK... how old are your chickens? I have some brooder babies that are only just learning to roost. I think when they have a Mama chicken that teaches them to roost, they do it faster. I had to put some of mine up on the roost so they'd know what it was there for. Once a few started, they all started. Some birds, like silkie will roost on the floor, or on very very low roosts. I however have a silkie who roosts 5 feet up, and his lady love, she roosts on top of the nest boxes. I have front open nest boxes not top open, so poo is not a problem... I also have some that roost in the uppermost places that you'd think they couldn't get, but they do... They may also prefer to roost in the door of the coop if the location is cooler, better air... I have a summer coop. Only a few birds actually use the enclosed coops this time of year. By summer coop... I am in Michigan. This summer has been uncomfortably hot. I took my winter run, added half walls just at the tops of the run are to keep the wind from hitting the birds, and the bottom of the walls are 2 layers of fencing, and then a layer of plastic net, 24 feet of roost space. I put a few birds up there one night, and with in a week, ALL the birds from the 3 different coops discovered it, and have not been back in the coops all summer, the coops are just unbelievably hot even with the doors open, vents and fans... If your run is secure, predator safe, and I do mean SAFE, top covered and apron-ed... Then why not put roosts out in it, then move them back into the coop in the cold months... Just a thought.

Good idea My chicks have a training roost from the time they are 1 week old. It's a miniature version of what they will use once they are grown. It has worked wonders. Even my 5 week old chicks are roosting on the top roost with adults.

Training roost

Second training roost is a saw horse - lastly they graduate to the big roost (to the left).

Here are some really young ones graduating early. They are gifted I guess

These ones even made it to the very top roost. Only 8 weeks old

 

[NovaAman]

aoxa... you're so nice giving that chick a feather duster to sleep with! LOL

What type of frizzle is it?

 

[aoxa]

aoxa... you're so nice giving that chick a feather duster to sleep with! LOL What type of frizzle is it?

It's a sizzle

 

[redheadchick]

My ladies had the same trouble. We originally had some boards in the coop and they were not liking it. They would literally pile into the doorway on top of each other, it was ridiculous looking! We removed the boards and put rounder, natural tree branches (thick). We also bought two pullets who had already learned to roost. They went right in and roosted and some of the others followed suit. The ones that didn't know how to get up there, we would lift them onto the roosts and they eventually learned how to get up their themselves. We still have one silkie (she's our special needs chicken haha) that sleeps in the nesting box, but will roost occasionally. Good luck!!