Stubborn SLW roosting issues

[Matzwd]

I hope someone can offer up some advice. I am new to chickens this year and have a mixed flock of five hens and a rooster, with Lacey the SLW being at the bottom of the pecking order. I had a store bought coop they were all in when they first went outside, and there were no problems. Everyone huddled together at bedtime.

Well, at the end of July, they were moved to their new custom built coop and confined to the run that surrounded it for a full week before they were allowed back out to free range. A few of them had to be put inside the coop the first couple of nights, including Lacey, who could always be found on top of the nesting boxes on the outside of the coop.
She is the only one that still won't go on the coop to roost on her own. We have been very consistent about putting her to bed every night.

We painted the exterior of the coop last weekend, and now she is trying to roost on a high beam inside the run. I have to get a ladder to get her down to put her in the coop. She loves high places, but once she's in the coop, she snuggles in a corner on the floor with the rooster (a silkie who can't get you as high as the girls). What could be the problem? Does she not want to be with the other hens because they boss her?

My husband had put in a ladder type roost initially, and Ieaad him remove it because all the girls piled onto the top rung, and the bottom was a waste of coop space. Instead, he put in two higher roosts (opposite ends of the coop) and two lower ones so the rooster could get up there if he wanted, and Lacey would have other choices than just by the tougher girls.

So, I got her off the beam in the run tonight and placed her in the coop where she snuggled up on the floor with Blue the rooster. I put Blue on a low roost and then Lacey who immediately jumped off. I put her on again, and she jumped off again. Then Blue hopped down, and they went back to their corner. I then set Lacey on the empty high roost, thinking she wanted to be up higher. She went back to the floor. Ugg.

So, two questions here...how do I get her to go inside the coop, and how do i get her to roost once there? She is such a sweet and chatty hen, but she really is determined to sleep outside.

I'll post pictures of the coop and run tomorrow if anyone thinks that will help.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Yes photo's would be great, second silky do not roost sorry their nature get another silky..
What breed is cockerel ? may need to get the silky their own coop if he could hurt them trying to breed them..........

 

[CannedMonster]

Yes photo's would be great, second silky do not roost sorry their nature get another silky..
What breed is cockerel ? may need to get the silky their own coop if he could hurt them trying to breed them..........

The Silkie is the cockerel, I believe.

My Silkie roosts.
7 feet up lol.
Somebody forgot to tell him he’s not supposed to

To the OP:
You may have to just give this one up and let them sleep in the corner
She probably just wants to avoid the more dominant birds that peck her. They can be terrible at roosting time!
Ironically, my bullies were the 3 SLW I had that I’ve since rehomed.

My first birds that I owned were raised by a lady who didn’t have roosts in her coop.
They slept on the floor of the coop for about 6 months until I started integrating my younger birds with them that I’d raised myself.
I had put small roosts in the brooder with them to teach them to roost.
They used them all the time.
So when my older birds saw the younger ones using the roosts they were up there in no time lol.

 

[Matzwd]

Yes photo's would be great, second silky do not roost sorry their nature get another silky..
What breed is cockerel ? may need to get the silky their own coop if he could hurt them trying to breed them..........

I just don't want to try more silkies right now. I bought some hatchlings locally from a breeder, all three turning out to be cockerels. I kept one. That's why he is a lone silkie rooster in a mixed flock of girls. When the third silkie started crowing, I called the breeder to offer him back to her. She laughed, refused to take him, and offered me two free chicks, saying she would try to choose smallish ones that would likely be girls. I know almost immediately after getting them home they were both boys. Rehomed those two just a couple of days ago.

The rooster is the silkie. Hens are cinnamon queen, silver laced wyandotte, welsummer, salmon faverolle, and white crested black polish. Are you saying the silkie rooster might hurt the hens? I was thinking his being smaller than them would be a good thing. I have not seen him successfully mate yet. He pecks the girls, and they run away. Sometimes they run past him to avoid him altogether. Only one of the pullets has begun to lay, the cinnamon queen. They are all 22-23 weeks old, including silkie rooster.

 

[Matzwd]

You may have to just give this one up and let them sleep in the corner

I'd be alright with that, I guess, if I could just get her to go into the coop on her own. I thought perhaps she wanted to sleep up high someplace, and the other pullets wouldn't let her in the top rung so she roosts high outside?? Weird that once she's in the coop she wants to be on the floor by the rooster. She was the first one to start flying upward when they were all babies.

 

[snow5164]

Yes photo's would be great, second silky do not roost sorry their nature get another silky..
What breed is cockerel ? may need to get the silky their own coop if he could hurt them trying to breed them..........

Not sure you read the post ... silkie is the cockerel... and silkies do roost .....

To : @Matzwd you have to decide how much work you want to put into this ... do you have to manage the sleeping arrangements in the coop ? Or is it just ok that they’re all inside sleeping ?

I have some sleeping in nesting boxes, I’ve moved them two nights to perch .. ... now I have to decide too

Good luck , I’d love to see your silkie, I have a few too

 

[Matzwd]

Not sure you read the post ... silkie is the cockerel... and silkies do roost .....

To : @Matzwd you have to decide how much work you want to put into this ... do you have to manage the sleeping arrangements in the coop ? Or is it just ok that they’re all inside sleeping ?

I have some sleeping in nesting boxes, I’ve moved them two nights to perch .. ... now I have to decide too

Good luck , I’d love to see your silkie, I have a few too

I'd be ok with all chickies inside sleeping, but climbing a ladder outside in the dark to retrieve Miss Lacey to place her in the coop is getting old, especially in the rain the last couple of nights. She'd rather be perched up high outside and drenched than in the coop with her sassy sisters.

 

[pennyJo1960]

I do understand 3 of mine sleep in a huddle on the floor I spent 4 moths trying to put them all up at night they all 4 spend more time broody less time anything else they can sleep where they want to but they do not go out but for a tractor I made for Knox of it is safe from our 3 outside cats that would eat them

 

[Matzwd]

Ok, here are some pics. This is the new roosting bar arrangement, with several bars of varying heights. The previous ladder roost is gone. There are enclosure pics as well so you can see where Lacey likes to roost.

Here is the nesting box roof that she was sleeping on before we painted it. I'm not sure if the paint job our our continually picking her up and putting her inside the coop caused her to change strategy:

This is her new spot, 8 feet off the ground:

Here she is:

And her snuggle buddy:

 

[snow5164]

It all looks very nice Like an exhibit at the zoo so clean and beautiful

That’s a lot of roosting bars ... do you need so many ?are they removable for cleaning?

Ok so the bars that are 8 feet up , there’s many of them ? Why does she pick this one?Does she start on the coop then get up there?

Is there some way you can stop her from getting up there?
You could put hardware cloth from the roof til that bar so she can’t sit in it ?fill in the space ....

Wonder if scare tape would work? Might look silly ....

I that silky I’d cuddle up with him too