Roosting - What’s Normal?

[Whigru]

Hi All,
I’ve seen several posts about roosting behaviors and noticed a few differences with my birds compared to my previous flock and what others are sharing. I have four birds - two are almost 19wks and two are almost 10wks. In our coop, we have a roosting bar a couple inches from the floor and it’s 3 ft in length and a couple inches wide. In the run, we have two more roosting bars. They have no issues using the bars in the run. however, my bigger concern is that my older birds really love “roosting” in the doorway to the coop. They always have since they were little, and now with the other birds in there, they seem to “tuck” the little ones in to the coop and then park themselves in the doorway. I *think* the little ones roost on the bar in the coop, but they may also just be sleeping on the floor of the coop. I guess I’m not sure if there is an issue with how/where they are roosting/sleeping, or if it’s just what they like and it’s not a big deal. Is there a forum or page to read regarding roosting behaviors we are supposed to strive for?

 

[aart]

In our coop, we have a roosting bar a couple inches from the floor

Please post some pics of this coop?
It's best for them to roost above the ground/floor/poop board so they aren't sitting in their poop....but some of mine want to roost on the poop board(cleaned daily).
I don't try to change that.
Most important is that they are secure from predators while sleeping at night.

 

[K0k0shka]

A couple inches from the floor may not be tall enough. Most chickens prefer to sleep high up, and will fight over the tallest roost. Try moving the roost bar higher.

 

[Whigru]

Please post some pics of this coop?
It's best for them to roost above the ground/floor/poop board so they aren't sitting in their poop....but some of mine want to roost on the poop board(cleaned daily).
I don't try to change that.
Most important is that they are secure from predators while sleeping at night.

I will see what I can do to move the bar higher. I thought that could be part of the problem. It will require a bit of configuring but should be do-able. We have a feeder in the coop which I think can come out, since we have feed in the run, and then I can put the roosting bar higher and keep it away from the nesting area.

 

[K0k0shka]

Oh yeah, that’s not really a roosting bar. It’s a tiny step. Looks like your coop is elevated? If so, perching in the doorway looking down might feel to them like they are perched higher off the ground, and that’s why they do it. Give them at least a couple of feet of height, if you have the room, or at least higher than the distance between the doorway and the drop outside of it.

 

[Whigru]

Oh yeah, that’s not really a roosting bar. It’s a tiny step. Looks like your coop is elevated? If so, perching in the doorway looking down might feel to them like they are perched higher off the ground, and that’s why they do it. Give them at least a couple of feet of height, if you have the room, or at least higher than the distance between the doorway and the drop outside of it.

I will do that! Yes, the coop is 2 feet off the ground. I think we have easily a foot or two worth of space to raise the inside roost. The roosts outside are at least 1-2 feet off the ground, so I had planned to do likewise with this one, but with the feeder in there, there isn’t a good place for it. I will remove the feeder and put this bar higher. Our previous pre-fab coop had “roosting bars” in the coop similar to this, where it was just a tiny lift off the ground, so I think we thought it would be fine since our other chickens seemed to deal with it. I’m guessing that’s why they spent so much time sleeping on the outside roost instead, though. Thanks for the input!

 

[aart]

put the roosting bar higher and keep it away from the nesting area.

Are those trays with bedding in them the nests?
What does coop and run look like from the outside?
Have you been thru a winter yet?

 

[Whigru]

Are those trays with bedding in them the nests?
What does coop and run look like from the outside?
Have you been thru a winter yet?

Yes, the bedding area to the right of my picture is the nest area. I want to try to enclose it a bit more but haven’t thought of a good way. We have been through a winter but not with this coop, we just built it in April so have some adjustments to make as we go through some things. Hence my roosting bar issues.
The coop/run pictures are attached (only big change is the run is now fully covered). We are also going to add hardware cloth since I know that chicken wire is not predator safe. Dimensions follow the maximum space allowed by our city regulations. I think the run is 3x6 (or 3x8, can’t remember) and 4ft tall. The coop is 12sq ft. And 3-4ft tall. The space under the coop is 2ft tall and the same footprint as the coop.