I am new to chickens, so this may seem like a silly concern. I have four sex link pullets and one EE cockerel which are all around 15 wks old. Since I brought them home a couple of weeks ago, they all sleep in a pile in the corner of the coop. My DH built really nice nest boxes and 2x4 roosts, with nice little ladders up to both, but they seem terrified to be off of the ground.
I brought home two 6 mo old EE pullets this morning (one of whom promptly flew over the 6' fence and was eaten by my dog). I thought that being older, these birds would definitely make use of the roosts/nests. This evening DH and I clipped the wings of the remaining EE pullet and my EE cockerel, and I put the pullet on the platform by the nests, and she immediately hopped down. When I went back out to close up the coop just before dark, all birds, including the EE pullet, are in their little pile in the corner.
I guess I am concerned for two reasons. The first being that the floor doesn't seem like it would be the warmest spot to sleep, although I have added some extra shavings in their corner. My other concern is that I am hoping to get eggs in the next month or so, and if they won't get off the floor to sleep, what are the chances that they are going to lay eggs in my nest boxes?
So, is this normal behavior for chickens of this age? Will they start roosting at some point on their own, or is there something I should do to encourage it?
I brought home two 6 mo old EE pullets this morning (one of whom promptly flew over the 6' fence and was eaten by my dog). I thought that being older, these birds would definitely make use of the roosts/nests. This evening DH and I clipped the wings of the remaining EE pullet and my EE cockerel, and I put the pullet on the platform by the nests, and she immediately hopped down. When I went back out to close up the coop just before dark, all birds, including the EE pullet, are in their little pile in the corner.
I guess I am concerned for two reasons. The first being that the floor doesn't seem like it would be the warmest spot to sleep, although I have added some extra shavings in their corner. My other concern is that I am hoping to get eggs in the next month or so, and if they won't get off the floor to sleep, what are the chances that they are going to lay eggs in my nest boxes?
So, is this normal behavior for chickens of this age? Will they start roosting at some point on their own, or is there something I should do to encourage it?