When will the girls start using the roost?

[blitz1976]

My girls are only 18 weeks or so, and I had to replace one of the RIR and I got a bigger replacement. Im not sure if shes older or just that much bigger because of what she was fed in her first home. At any rate, the younger 3 that have been there the longest, 3 weeks, will not roost, they just huddle as others have said. Much to my suprise the new one, uses the roost, and tries to huddle too. Since she is the new one, she is the outcast currently. Since she is new, will the others follow her example and roost in time? My coop is not big enough for me to get in there an put them on the roosting bar, so im hoping for a miracle!

 

[bertman]

SUCCESS!!!!!

It's been almost a month since I posted this thread and tonight THREE of the girls are on the roost snoozing while the other three are loosely piled up in their familiar corner spot.

Given their propensity to follow the leader, I'm thinking they'll all be up there on the roost pretty soon.

We did not do any of the afterdark picking them up routine except once. Just decided to let them do their thing.

Thanks for all the encouragement and info, everyone.

 

[weeders n feeders]

Mine started perching on roost at about a week old. I put a short bamboo stick in their brooder a couple inches off the ground. And moved it higher as they grew. By two weeks old that's were they would be every night.

 

[bertman]

good idea, weeders and feeders. I'm doing that on our next batch.

 

[7L Farm]

Mine were raised in their coop & started using their roost pretty much from the get go.

 

[bertman]

THEY'RE ALL ON THE ROOST TONIGHT!!!!

It's taken over a month but tonight all six of the girls settled in on the roost. The three holdouts apparently decided the others had a good thing goin' and decided to join in.

After they've done this for a week or so I'm going to put one nest box with hay back in the coop and see if somebody will contribute an egg or two. They are now right at 16 weeks old so if we're lucky someone might be ready.


We've learned a valuable lesson: put a roost in with the birds when they are very young so they get in the roosting habit early on.

 

[blitz1976]

Nice! Thats a good feeling huh!?

Mine finally started roosting too after some training.

 

[bertman]

Congrats, blitz1976!!

Yes, it is a good feeling.

 

[cmom]

Quote:
I agree. Sometimes as juveniles they will try to sleep in the nest boxes or where ever and when the sleep there they usually poop there and when they start laying you can get poopy eggs. My birds were sleeping in the nest boxes. I closed off the nest boxes. It's no fun when they get used to sleeping in the nest boxes and then you reach in and get poopy eggs. This happened to me in the beginning. I thought it was cute. I finally got tired of cleaning the poopy eggs and the poop out of the nest boxes...

Good to hear your birds are using the roosts now. I put roosts in my brooders for my chicks and they use them from a very early age but some have still tried to sleep in the nest boxes until I started closing them off so they couldn't get in. Some would roost on the roost/perch I have in front of my nest boxes.

 

[blitz1976]

Ive had to keep my nesting box closed off too. I have to shine a flashlight in the coop towards dusk because they wait too long to go in. Ive started getting them in sooner, so hopefully they will be more comfortable getting on it when its not too bright.