Roosting outside the run and coop

[NatJ]

I’ve never heard of the term scissor beak before. Is it part of a particular breed?

No, scissor beak is a problem some chickens have. Instead of meeting properly, the top beak and the bottom beak go past each other like the blades of a pair of scissors. That makes it hard for chicken to eat, so they usually don't do well unless they get some special care. It's also called "crossbeak."

There is a photo at the top of this article:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...kens-including-tube-feeding-techniques.64321/

 

[WhySayWhat]

I’ve never heard of the term scissor beak before. Is it part of a particular breed?

No, she has a deformed beak, the lower part of her beak sticks out to the side and makes it very difficult for her to eat.

 

[RawDaddy]

No, she has a deformed beak, the lower part of her beak sticks out to the side and makes it very difficult for her to eat.

Ok got it. Never have seen that before, thanks for sharing.

 

[RawDaddy]

Hi all, I have an interesting situation. I have 11 hens 5 Polish, 2 Wyandotte’s, 1 Rhode Island Red, and 3 others I can’t remember their breeds. Ranging in age from 9 months oldest, 5 months are the youngest. I have one silver hair polish that refuses to start her night roosting with the others. My coop and run are predator proof. I wouldn’t be asking this if she would roost in the run, but she doesn’t. I’m in the process of building a duck house( no ducks yet), and that’s where I find her every night sitting there fast asleep. I’m installing a coop/run door opener today cuz we’ll be going on vacation at the end of the month. This has been going on for two months now. It’s almost like she’s waiting for me to put her in the coop on the bar with the rest of the crew which I do every night. This is usually well after dark which is not safe for her. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. I have 3 x 6ft roosting bars in the coop all 18” apart at different heights. The older birds take the top and the middle bar you get middle age and youngest get the lower bar which is 2 ft off the coop floor. And the coop is off the ground as well. There was some bullying going on a month and a half ago but since changing the roosting configuration everyone but her all head to the coop at sunset. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Here are the pictures of inside the coop

4x6 is tight space for 11 birds.

Looking forward to seeing the pics, double check the measurement between roosts.
Vids have to be uploaded to youtube, or similar platform, then paste a link here.

Maybe you could shut them all in before dark, for several days in a row.
Then she could put herself on the roost, and realize that she doesn't need help.
("Shut them in" meaning either in the coop, or in the predator proof run/coop area.)

If you have watched them at roosting time, does she try to go in but get chased out? Or does she not even try?

That’s exactly what I’m trying now. Three youngest are the silver hair polish and she’s one of them. The other two will head to the coop but not her. The other two so far have no desire to roost. She does. I watched the dynamic the last two nights and there’s definitely a pecking order. There’s plenty of space for all to roost although I may have to take the time to separate the bars a couple more inches apart. I posted some pictures of the inside of the coop

 

[RawDaddy]

No, scissor beak is a problem some chickens have. Instead of meeting properly, the top beak and the bottom beak go past each other like the blades of a pair of scissors. That makes it hard for chicken to eat, so they usually don't do well unless they get some special care. It's also called "crossbeak."

There is a photo at the top of this article:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...kens-including-tube-feeding-techniques.64321/

Thank you for teaching me something today.

 

[rosemarythyme]

There’s plenty of space for all to roost although I may have to take the time to separate the bars a couple more inches apart. I posted some pictures of the inside of the coop

Might be the angle of the photo but your roost bars look too stacked on top of each other (so birds on a higher bar can poop onto the lower ones), which could cause birds to not want to use the lower roosts. Do you know what the angle on the ladder is?