should i insist they sit on roost

[Cherrypie]

Quote:
Yikes! How do I encourage them to roost on the bar then?

 

[Uppity Peon]

I think you have to experiment with the roosts. My neighbor uses a bunch of tree branches criss-crossing at about the same height (about 4' off the floor). I have a 4' closet rod about 2' above my raised floor that my rooster Puff Daddy seems to like even though it is not quite as high as the 8' 2x4 the rest of the flock likes. My chickens are getting bigger now and I have a 2nd house for them but they seem to prefer to be all in one crowded house for now.

 

[krazycow6]

I have always put a perch in the brooder and by 3 weeks they are all hoppin up on it. They will figure it, give them time.

 

[LaSombra]

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I do the same. I use a little 1/2" x 1" stick like what people use to stake trees with, I guess. It was .85 cents in the hardware store.

 

[Cherrypie]

We tried moving them out of the nest and they squawked and flew right back. Since they aren't laying yet, should we remove the nest for now until they get used to the roost?

 

[LaSombra]

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I would do that, or at least cover it so they can't get in. Is your nest higher than the roost? I've heard they sometimes choose the nest if it's at equal height or higher than the roost...

 

[Ridgerunner]

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Perhaps the roost is not "clearly higher" than the litter. The roost needs to be clearly above what you don't want them roosting on. I can't tell you what "clearly higher" is for your chickens. It may be a few inches and it may be a foot.

Henryetta, I don't believe yours are roosting in the nesting boxes, but that seems to have become a topic.

Chickens are creatures of habit and seem to get stressed at anything new or different. If they roost in the nesting boxes, they will poop in the nesting boxes and you will get dirty eggs. For those that have chickens roosting in nesting boxes, you can solve the problem now before they are laying or you can wait until they are laying, realize you really have a problem, solve the problem, and possibly reduce egg production while they get over the stress caused by the new circumstances. LaSombra is right. The roosts need to be "clearly higher" than the nesting boxes.

The dominant chickens will choose the best roosting spots. If the roosting arrangements change, these chickens will have to determine where they want to roost and this can cause some pecking order issues at bedtime.

 

[krazycow6]

Perhaps you could put a ramp up to the perches, if you have not already. This might give them a little bit of encouragement.

 

[MIKE555444]

My Buff Orrington’s found the transition a little difficult from the small coop to the larger chicken house with a roost. At first they wanted to go outside and sleep in a small pile next to the run fence… Which was NOT going to happen since a predator could reach through and grab them. One evening I was gone late and got back and there they sit in the rain… same little circle in the same corner of the run. So I continued to take them in the chicken house every evening… but that that started getting old after about a week.

Sooo I decided to lock them up in the chicken house 100% of the time for a few days and see how that worked. after the third day they started coming inside on there own. I think being confined to the chicken house made them explore the roost also because half of them were on the roost the next night. The others soon followed after putting them on the roost for another few days. They were only about 7 weeks when they started roosting and now they all roost up on the highest roost.

I think it is important to get them up on the roost for several reasons. They will be healthier if they stay cleaner so we don’t want them sitting in there poop for 6 or 8 hours. Also my dad tell stories of rats biting at there feet and such which would be horrible.

If you close them up and block of the nest I bet they would be good to go in a few days.

Good Luck, Mike

 

[Cherrypie]

I took the nest out and they are crowding together on the floor, piling together like a bunch of puppies! I hope they move over to the roost soon.