Sleeping in the rafter under the vent

[jmtcmkb]

I have 5 chicks 10 weeks old. Been out in the coop 5 weeks. The lowest on the order strggles every night to find her way to the roost. I provide a light shining on the roosts and dont shut off until all are well settled. My little one seems to have sight issues, she is the last to come down in the morning, and seems to struggle to find her way both at dawn and dusk while the others done seem to have an issue. Many nights she end up alone on the rafters near the ceiling. Most nights I have succesfully guided her to the roost with a flash light. Tonight I cant seem to guide her down and she is right up against the vent. If I open the front door of the coop ( see my home page) it is wide open and they flip out, so I cant open it and physically move her. Do you think there is a real danger in leaving her there tonight? Our temps get below freezing. Tomorrow our plan is to put something up there so she cant settle in in this space... any suggestions?

 

[mtnhens4]

We are new to chickens this spring and only have 4 hens but our barred rock also has vision issues. We had a roost in the run during the summer and she never could get up there, (they hatched in mid Feb. so she was 16 to 20 weeks old then). Every night we went outside and put her on the roost with the rest of the girls. When the weather got colder we took the outside roost down and put a ramp up to the coop roost. We had to show her the way 2 nights but after that she got up there herself. Funny but she was the first one to give us eggs and is a very sweet hen so I guess our kindness has paid off. We call her our Special needs girl and we have never minded building things to make her life easier.

I'm not sure how to help you tonight but hopefully she will be ok tonight and then you can figure out something for tomorrow.

 

[jmtcmkb]

Thank you mtnhens4! After I posted this I shined a flash light on the bottom roost and left for a long while. I just checked and she has found her way up to the upper roost with the other chickens. She is the sweetest and I dont mind taking the extra care, poor girl. Does seems like she struggles to see in dusk/dawn light.