To young to Roost.

[bald Rooster]

happy chickens

Hello
I have a flock of 7 chickens and they go to roost before dark, There coop is ten by sixteen and at least 9 feet high, its a converted horse stall.
I have several 2x2 at about 6 foot 3 ( over my head) for them to roost on and ladder that goes up on the face of my nesting, laying box. All my chickens can maneuver there way up easy.
Well I bought 24 RIR chicks 8 weeks ago and have integrated them with my other 7 now.
These small chickens huddle in the corner when it gets dark.They don't seem to have any interest in climbing up there?
My other ones were 4 weeks old and roosting?

 

[silkieRaiser]

I know my chicks are about 4 months old and they are still cuddling up on the ground. They're my first bunch but I'm going to tell you that its perfectly normal for your chicks to huddle on the ground. You're not alone. I'm not sure about the first ones, maybe they just decided to roost early.

 

[Pork Pie]

In the absence of a mother hen, some chicks need to be "trained" to use a roost. It could be that their reticence to roost is the result of not having objects in the brooder that encourages them to hop, climb etc. Maybe try physically putting them on the roosts on an evening for a few nights - they should get the idea.

 

[bald Rooster]

I have for the last two nights.I hope they get the idea soon. Picking up 24 squawking Chickens is a pain .

 

[chickens really]

If Possible put in another roost.....?

Sounds like you have little sub flocks....The new ones and the older ones are not one flock yet......


Cheers!

 

[aart]

6 feet high is fine for getting up....but can they get down without crashing into something?

Do you have 25 feet of roost length separate, and maybe lower, from where the older birds roost?
Best to have 1 foot of roost length per bird.
The olders are not likely to let the youngers share a roost with them.

 

[bald Rooster]

Yes I have about 6 2x2 8 feet long so thats 48 feet of roost. At first a few crashed into the wire but they learn fast were to land.
I am not against changing my coop design, but what I have works for me Because .Chickens poop a lot when they roost, When I'm feeding all my critters in the morning before work it has to be fast. right now it takes me about 2 minutes to shovel up all there poop even if there still on the roost.

 

[bald Rooster]

As far as the older putting up with them, there is space between them.All are at the same lvl.Having them at different lvl with them flying down just won't be safe.

 

[LLee34]

My 5+ week old flock is just starting to roost on their small roosting stand. But only a few.....the rest like to huddle for comfort and security. They'll get the idea after they have sat around on the small roost during the day and nothing "bad" happens during a nap. When they start roosting regularly, I'll install the "real" roosting poles starting at about 3 feet up, the tallest will be about 5 feet up. I have short roosts because I have to clip wings at least twice a year and it's a lot easier to just reach out and pick them off the roost for their trim. I also have my roost set up on hinges so when I want to clean out underneath, I can just lift up the roost, hook it on a chain from the ceiling, fork out all the poopy straw, put out new straw, then unhook and wa-lah! Totally clean coop in just 15 minutes.

 

[bald Rooster]

Thanks for the input. I do have a second part of my coop thats 6 foot by 10 foot .The ceiling isn't as high as my other.I used it for little chickens till now. I had some roost about two feet up,with a ladder and only 2 or 3 would ever use it.
Integrating them was easy as there were so many little chickens. the bigs ones just gave up chasing them around the run after 2 days. Now they eat at the same feeders.