Terror on the roost

[GardenWeasel]

Any body else have hens that fight for 15 minutes on the roost. Oh the toe pecking and head pecking and screams of despair. Every night. There is plenty of room but someone ultimately gets knocked off. I go in every night to close the pop door and it is chaos. Do I just have meanies?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Mine do some of that so I'd assume it is pretty standard for them to adjust themselves when they roost. I don't see much pecking but they do occasionally knock each other off and they do talk to each other a lot.

 

[lauralou]

I have a couple of naughty hens who seem to want the entire roost to themselves. I put up an extra roost to alleviate the problem. It has worked... to some small extent.

Every evening as I'm walking up to the coop, I hear the commotion. I'm already hollering, "Knock it off, Georgia!" before I'm even inside the gate.

 

[gritsar]

It doesn't matter if you offer them 20 ft. of roost (my coop has 16 ft.), they are still going to argue over the same 4 ft. of prime real estate. I've always said they were like teenage girls.

 

[LynneP]

Gosh, mine are angels, then. Who knew?

 

[GardenWeasel]

Any body have ideas about what makes the spots prime real estate? Maybe I have shaken up the order by installing a poop board under the highest roost, making it appear lower? Also had some babies( same age) that we started putting on the roosts when it got so cold on the ground who now go up on their own. I just don't get it. I have noticed some are meaner than others. My Wyandottes are among that group.

 

[M To The Maxx]

Mine do that too. Everybody always wants the top roost.

 

[dhelin]

It's horrible! They are SO mean to the gals at the bottom of the pecking order! I've decided that I can't see or hear it anymore--and if I go in to the coop after they are settled, it riles them up again and it starts all over again. So I leave them alone after dark.

Cant' believe those cute little chicks can grow into such snippy teens! Even my normally sweet Light Brahmas get into the action.
Would it be better if there was a roo?

 

[farmin'chick]

It won't make too much difference to have a roo. If you watch, you'll see the lower ranked birds start sneaking in a little early so they can get the "important" girls' spots. When the important girls come in, they of course have to roust them out so they can have their OWN spots, and the ones that get demoted make all sorts of excuses with lots of flapping and clucking.

 

[robbdebbie]

Mine never fight about space. They have so many different options in my coop. I have a couple of really fluffy dark spots on the floor that the silkie showgirls like. Then there are the too tall nest boxes that some like to sleep in, and some like to sleep on top of them. There are also roosting poles in front of the windows that some like. Mine segregate themselves to size and breeds nost if the time. It is funny.