Supporting an Older Hen with Roost "Dismount"

[Mrs. K]

Throw a pile of hay there.

 

[Anon112]

Throw a pile of hay there.

I've been nervous about using hay because of how wet the run area gets (this is a standing problem, and relocating the whole run structure is something I am saving up to do) and I don't want it getting moldy. But maybe I could put some just right around the coop, which is an area that doesn't get quite as wet.

 

[aart]

I'd ant to know why are they are not roosting in the coop, and fix that issue.

 

[Anon112]

I'd ant to know why are they are not roosting in the coop, and fix that issue.

I've never been able to figure it out. Originally I had three chickens, and across two different coop/run set-ups, they always preferred to roost "outside".

The hens go in the coop to lay their eggs (in the nesting boxes, not the roosting area). They sometimes wander in there during the day, so they are not afraid of it. The roosting area is spacious enough. The roosting bars are comfortable for their feet (because I've since repurposed them in the run and they will use them to perch on).

Currently I've run a large tree branch right over the coop roof, and they really like roosting on that. Because keeping them warm in the winter is not too challenging, they seem comfortable, and the run is very secure, it hasn't felt like the most urgent thing to fix. The chicken vet who used to come do home visits at my place said it was fine, so I haven't worried too much about it.

 

[aart]

The roosting area is spacious enough.

Is it?
Pics and dimensions please.

The chicken vet who used to come do home visits at my place said it was fine, so I haven't worried too much about it.

Might be time to change that perspective.

 

[Mrs. K]

I am not sure, AArt. I have seen some coops that are basically a roof over their heads, and birds have done alright. With a small coop, especially those prefab deals, a lot of birds roost outside.

 

[Anon112]

I will need to go out later to get exact measurements of the coop. The chicken run is converted from an old horse run-in. It's about 13 feet by 24 feet, and 12 feet of the length are covered by a sloped metal roof. So half of their run---the half where they roost---is enclosed on three sides by wood walls and then the metal roof on top. (There are triangles of ventilation that I have covered with hardware cloth). At this point, their roost is a large tree branch that I got from the woods and nailed diagonally into one of the corners.

The coop is a pre-fab, and at this point it would not fit my whole flock. (I had 2 or 3 medium sized chickens when I bought it. I now have 6 chickens in that area. I remember that the coop said it was rated for 6-8 chickens and that was obviously a total lie.)

And I do very much trust my vet (well, former vet. She's now doing international consultations and out of the mobile visit business. Her credentials are here: https://www.vin.com/vin/default.aspx?pId=130&id=8879519&meta=108). She had a lot to tell me about my set-up in terms of the health of the flock, predator safety, etc. She said her main concern about chickens sleeping outside of the coop were being safe from predators and not being too exposed to wind when the weather gets very cold. The run is safe predator wise, and if there's a bad cold snap I can hang a tarp over the "open" side of the run to cut down on the wind, so she said not to worry too much about them not being inside the coop at night.

I've been intimidated at the idea of building my own coop, but my sister and brother-in-law recently built their own and it's a lovely design with lots of space on the inside. One of my goals this summer is to see if I can get them to help me build one for my girls. It is tempting to have that extra layer of safety and protection from the elements.