Roosting Positions

[Wyorp Rock]

He’s kinda a buzz kill. Any fun starts with the girls he’s quick to shut it down.

Explain this statement please.

 

[Clminer]

Explain this statement please.

Any excitement at all, running, jumping, chasing, flying other than onto roost, he runs over and stops it with a peck or just by kinda swelling up in front of them. Anything other than the girls walking around scratching and pecking seems to irritate him

 

[New2Chicks97]

Our rooster is always between the girls on the top roost in our coop. Usually between his favorite girls. We need to add more high roosts as they all seem to fight over the tallest roosts.

We have one Buff Brahma in our Banty and Silkie coop that had always lives with the Silkies and she doesn’t roost. She sleeps in the Silkie pile on the floor of the coop. I have tried getting her to roost but no dice as it seems ingrained now.

We have 4 others in the big coop that sleep on a shelf roost. We converted an old shed and the shelf was already built in. The funny part is the light Brahma who sleeps with head, neck and as much of herself as she can manage under one of the Buff Orpington girls. She was an older pullet when we got her so was never a chick around this other girl but she still crawls under her every night. Maybe she is just a big baby.....

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Any excitement at all, running, jumping, chasing, flying other than onto roost, he runs over and stops it with a peck or just by kinda swelling up in front of them. Anything other than the girls walking around scratching and pecking seems to irritate him

LOL He's got a LOT of growing up to do. He's just a baby.

 

[Chickassan]

Alot of brahmas don't roost. I don't think mine would if absolutly anyone would pile on the floor with her.

 

[Clminer]

Last night I went in coop and rooster was on top row with just about all the girls. The red I put on roost the day before was there already so I set the one red and one buff nesting in the floor up on the roost. This morning they were still all on the roost and while I was changing out frozen water I got to hear Rooster crow five or six times!!!! I’ve been waiting to hear him for the first time, it was very cool.

 

[Kris5902]

My chicks are ten weeks old now. Every evening the top roost is full of hens and the second roost has one hen and my rooster. Shouldn’t he be on the top roost? When will he establish dominance, or will he? I also have about two Red Stars and one Buff who sleep on the floor even though there is a ton of unused roost space.

I’m having almost the exact same issues, the first few nights in their new chicken tractor only 2 or 3 of my 12 chickens were roosting and all on lower roosts. I’m now up to 8, but I have 4 that just don’t get it. I don’t really care where my boys sleep on the roosts, as long as they are all peaceful.

What scares me is the 4 ground sleepers are doing it on 1” hardware cloth! Under all the roosting birds! They will get pooped on, and if the raccoons figure out where they are those 4 are super vulnerable. And they are sleeping in the one corner I can’t reach them in... so I can’t even pick them up and show them how to perch!

I don’t know what to do about the stubborn little things! I was relying on the roosting instincts to keep them safe from little grasping paws and teeth.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

What scares me is the 4 ground sleepers are doing it on 1” hardware cloth! Under all the roosting birds! They will get pooped on, and if the raccoons figure out where they are those 4 are super vulnerable. And they are sleeping in the one corner I can’t reach them in... so I can’t even pick them up and show them how to perch!

I don’t know what to do about the stubborn little things! I was relying on the roosting instincts to keep them safe from little grasping paws and teeth.

They roost in their own good time.
While you are waiting, it would be a good idea to add skirting and/or fencing around the base of your housing so the ground creepers can't reach the setting birds. Is that doable?

 

[Clminer]

I’m having almost the exact same issues, the first few nights in their new chicken tractor only 2 or 3 of my 12 chickens were roosting and all on lower roosts. I’m now up to 8, but I have 4 that just don’t get it. I don’t really care where my boys sleep on the roosts, as long as they are all peaceful.

What scares me is the 4 ground sleepers are doing it on 1” hardware cloth! Under all the roosting birds! They will get pooped on, and if the raccoons figure out where they are those 4 are super vulnerable. And they are sleeping in the one corner I can’t reach them in... so I can’t even pick them up and show them how to perch!

I don’t know what to do about the stubborn little things! I was relying on the roosting instincts to keep them safe from little grasping paws and teeth.

If you can just get your hands on them and set them up there a night or two they should stick to it. Mine have all caught on and about 12 of them crowd on the top roost, 3 roost on the second and the bottom two roosts are empty. As they grow bigger somebody’s gonna have to move down

 

[Ridgerunner]

I’m having almost the exact same issues, the first few nights in their new chicken tractor only 2 or 3 of my 12 chickens were roosting and all on lower roosts. I’m now up to 8, but I have 4 that just don’t get it. I don’t really care where my boys sleep on the roosts, as long as they are all peaceful.

What scares me is the 4 ground sleepers are doing it on 1” hardware cloth! Under all the roosting birds! They will get pooped on, and if the raccoons figure out where they are those 4 are super vulnerable. And they are sleeping in the one corner I can’t reach them in... so I can’t even pick them up and show them how to perch!

I don’t know what to do about the stubborn little things! I was relying on the roosting instincts to keep them safe from little grasping paws and teeth.

You might try putting something like plywood or such where they sleep to keep them safer. To clean just turn it over.