Roosting: Weird, Stupid, or Normal

[Cluckminster Fuller]

They are social animals and they are being companions to each other. They also may want a little extra warmth at night. And there's safety in numbers.

 

[paloozaparty]

My flock are all the same age and from a hatchery. They are ~ 8-9 weeks old and have been in their yard for about a month.

Every evening, when they go into the coop, they /all/ pile into one corner. Seventeen half-grown chicks cramming into two square feet of floor space.

When I come out in the morning, usually within 30 minutes of sunrise, they are perched on the roosts, waiting at the door, hanging out in the nest boxes. Normal chicken stuff.

Are they weird, stupid, or normal? And will they ever figure out they can start the night on the roosts?

OURS DO THE SAME THING! We only have 6 total--3 from our first-ever group (of 5, originally--one being a rooster), then 3 from up to 2 of the hens and the one rooster from the first group... When we actually hatched and raised 9--from eggs of our hens--all 11 would pile onto each other--even into the NEW shed we built with 6 nests--6 chicks from the 9 eggs we hatched ended up being ROOs WHAAA (because we can't keep roos)--but the 6 still pile onto each other into ONE corner nest--they're all either 1 or 2 years old, now. FYI--the one significant "negative" side effect of their piling onto each other--is that the bottom sleepers literally end up having basically whole-body feather damage. I spent 3 months convinced that they had mites or were pecking feathers off of each other--until I really figured it out that it was from the piling on top of each other. The damage lasted until they've all molted (all have finally molted for their first time ever--even the 2 year olds--they did NOT molt until recently). So, I just wanted to tell you to expect noticeable issues like up to significant feather damage. I DID find (at Tractor Store) that they have a "feather" improving chicken feed, that I can't say for sure--but, THINK that it actually may have helped! I've shared this photo on here before, but will again since it's so relevant to your post I swear that all 11 are piled up in this one photo--can't even see the bottom sleepers!!! It also takes at least 30 minutes EACH night for them to all pile in and get themselves situated--I've literally brought over a chair and just sat and watched them pile onto each other several nights in a row--due to how entertaining it is to watch

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Is it normal, weird or stupid, how babies roost?

Yes, yes, and oh, heck yes.

 

[Regina Larsen]

My birds are a mix of weird, stupid, and normal. They sleep all over the place.

• Normal: My rooster, Brahma, Plymouth Rock, Welsummer, Orpington, and one Silkie (when she's not broody, which almost always) roost on the roosting bar.
• Also kinda normal for Silkies: My other Silkie sleeps on the floor.
• Kinda stupid: My production red sleeps on the poop board, of all places. In her defense, she's a rescue and had nowhere to perch for the first 5 years of her life.
• Also kinda stupid: My Cochin perches on the edge of the poop board (the strip of wood that keeps the PDZ contained).
• Definitely stupid: My 3-month-old chicks, a Turken, another Orpington, and an Appenzeller Spitzhauben, sleep in a box I put in the coop for the ducks.
• Normal for ducks: My 4 ducks sleep on the coop floor.

It's a mess.

I have a JG who sleeps in the poop tray

 

[kurby22]

I love this thread, I was just telling my husband that he needs to join me tomorrow night to watch them figure out their sleeping arrangements I gave them two high up roosts and one mid level roost ladder all the full width of the coop, so there’s plenty of roost space. However, several of them all want to roost in the same spot on one end of the roost ladder and they bicker over it and cram themselves as close to the wall as possible My Mauve Orp was very upset there wasn’t space for her and eventually climbed on TOP of them to a couple inches of ladder and settled in—so she was leaning super far forward with her butt high in the air and in two other chickens faces haha. The tiniest chickens in the coop are way up high in ceiling roosts and the bantam rooster is relegated to the floor cuz he’s afraid of them, and the rest are still afraid of the roosts and chicken pile on top of the nest boxes. And the entire bedtime routine is so loud and disgruntled and hilarious. Chickens really are hilariously entertaining

 

[SkiboJeff]

I built several heights of 2x4 portable perch's (1ft, 2ft, 3ft). I moved the perch's around in the coop and run until the birds got used to hopping up and down on them. I then placed the portable perches next to the permanent high roost area (6' to 7' high). Three evenings in a row I put a couple of the birds in the permanent roost and helped the younger or dumb ones to get up into the roost area. Once a couple of the smarter ones figured it out the rest of the ten pullets followed. Every night they hop and fly into the roost and then they push, shove, and jostle until everyone is happy with who they are perched next to.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

We basically had too many chickens for our coop for a while, so we installed a pallet for them to roost on. They loved it! It was like letting the cousins sleep on the king bed in the master bedroom. Plenty of room for everybody, no fussing or squabbling except a couple of divas who wanted to snuggle under the roo, and he sorted them out.

 

[MTKitty]

We basically had too many chickens for our coop for a while, so we installed a pallet for them to roost on. They loved it! It was like letting the cousins sleep on the king bed in the master bedroom. Plenty of room for everybody, no fussing or squabbling except a couple of divas who wanted to snuggle under the roo, and he sorted them out.

You just put the pallet flat on the floor? Or did you lean it against a wall or stand it on end?

Interesting idea. I might even know where I can find a pallet.

 

[Aunt Angus]

You just put the pallet flat on the floor? Or did you lean it against a wall or stand it on end?

Interesting idea. I might even know where I can find a pallet.

I'm interested in this idea, too....

 

[BigBlueHen53]

You just put the pallet flat on the floor? Or did you lean it against a wall or stand it on end?

Interesting idea. I might even know where I can find a pallet.

No, it's elevated on a couple of sawhorses at the former roost level. It's screwed on, so it's secure. We also screwed a plywood bottom to it, flipped it over, and filled it with sand so we can scoop it clean like a sandbox. It's missing slats so it's easy to clean.