Roosting/sleeping on roof of the coop

[aembry1]

I have a smaller coop inside of my run/pen. I went out tonight to get something from the storage building and 4 of my hens were sleeping on the roof of the coop. There are 2 roosts in the pen. Do I need to raise my roosts higher or not worry about it (they use the roosts as well)? Is this normal behavior?

 

[Percheron chick]

If the coop is too small and too hot, normal.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

If the coop is too small and too hot, normal.

X2. Four of your hens sleeping outside coop. How many hens do you have total, and what are the dimensions of the coop?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Photos of coop, inside and out, and run, would help us pinpoint possible issues.

 

[aembry1]

Below is a picture of my pen. You can see the smaller coop inside of it. I have a total of 9 chickens (8 hens and 1 rooster). Tonight is the first time I've seen any sleeping on the top of the coop. I have a larger coop that is being attached to the run tomorrow. I've also added a picture of it. I'm not sure of the dimensions of the smaller coop. The larger coop is about 8 x 3 I believe.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Well your coop (both coops) are too small for number of birds, so crowding and possibly temperature, are driving some of the birds to choose a spot more suitable for the night.

The actual coop is the enclosed portion, so your "big" one is probably more like 3x3, not 8x3, which is enough room for 2 standard birds inside the coop. Can't tell how big the small one is nor quite how it's laid out.

You can make alterations to the big one at least to make the entire space more usable by increasing overall space and ventilation.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I will say your setup is very attractive, very pretty and nice! But must agree with @rosemarythyme that it is too small for your present flock's needs. This is a very common mistake made by beginners. Generally, more experienced chicken keepers recommend providing a coop with about 4 sq ft per bird of floor space, and a run with 10 sq ft per bird of floor space. This means your run needs to be at least 9' x 10' at a minimum, to provide 90 sq ft., and your coop should have a minimum of 36 sq ft. So it needs to measure 9'x4' at least, or even bigger to accommodate nesting boxes unless you attach them to the outside of the coop. Best wishes and enjoy your flock!

 

[aembry1]

I will say your setup is very attractive, very pretty and nice! But must agree with @rosemarythyme that it is too small for your present flock's needs. This is a very common mistake made by beginners. Generally, more experienced chicken keepers recommend providing a coop with about 4 sq ft per bird of floor space, and a run with 10 sq ft per bird of floor space. This means your run needs to be at least 9' x 10' at a minimum, to provide 90 sq ft., and your coop should have a minimum of 36 sq ft. So it needs to measure 9'x4' at least, or even bigger to accommodate nesting boxes unless you attach them to the outside of the coop. Best wishes and enjoy your flock!

The big run/coop is 10' x 10'. I do have two nesting boxes attached to it. The coop I'm attaching to the big run tomorrow is 8' x 3' and has 3 nesting boxes in it. I'm not for sure how big the small run is. It was purchased to keep my chicks separate from my big chickens until they got their feathers in. Thanks for the info!

 

[aembry1]

Well your coop (both coops) are too small for number of birds, so crowding and possibly temperature, are driving some of the birds to choose a spot more suitable for the night.

The actual coop is the enclosed portion, so your "big" one is probably more like 3x3, not 8x3, which is enough room for 2 standard birds inside the coop. Can't tell how big the small one is nor quite how it's laid out.

You can make alterations to the big one at least to make the entire space more usable by increasing overall space and ventilation.

The bigger one is 8x3. It has 3 nesting boxes in it. It is just a tad bit smaller in length than the pen is. The pen is 10x10. I've attached 2 nesting boxes to the pen/run. I will try to get better pictures tomorrow after I've attached them to each other.

 

[rosemarythyme]

... It's not 8x3. The 8x3 is a coop and a run. The COOP is this part I circled in red, which I am guessing is maybe 3x3. Simply put, too small for number of birds. I can give suggestions on how to improve and expand it if you're willing to put in some work on it.