Who can figure chicken minds?

[pkrplyraa]

I'm giving you bullet points here to minimize the reading....
* 5 - 2 1/2 year old girls
* not laying a lot of eggs anymore... wandering a bit
* got a 7 month old rooster and gradually added to flock
* isolated those as needed
* fed a lot more protein snacks
* put some vitamins in the water
* caught a couple sleeping on the roost and a couple sleeping on the bedding with the new rooster
* now all the girls are sleeping on the bedding in the coop with the rooster
* rooster does not go up on the roost

I got nothing... any ideas of what is going through their little brains?
Lower the roost?
Add more bedding?
See a shrink?

I just want happy chickens back again... sigh....


Advice accepted.
thanks

 

[sourland]

They're in love with the 'young guy'. I have no idea what goes on in those tiny little brains.

 

[abigfathen]

You can try a drop of lugols solution in their water. Iodine deficiency can lead to lethargy and infertility.

 

[bobbi-j]

Not all chickens roost at 7 months. I had some that didn't roost until 8 months or so (my broody raised chicks always roost MUCH sooner - I'm a failure as a chicken mom as I won't hop up there and teach my brooder raised ones sooner). It's not going to kill them to sleep on the floor for a bit. If they're comfy, I wouldn't worry about adding more bedding. Honestly, I've never thought too much about where my chickens sleep. If they're happy on the floor, so be it.

At 2 1/2, if you're heading into winter in your part of the world, you're not going to get many eggs. They've molted, the daylight hours are decreasing and they are going into "winter mode". Mine usually start again in mid-February or so. If you want eggs through the winter, you may want to consider adding light to your coop. Not a heat lamp - just a regular light on a timer. Start off gradually - about 20 minutes a day for several days, then add another 20, etc. until you're up to about 14 hours total light each day.

 

[Beekissed]

Just go out and put him and them on the roosts at night....may have to do that for a couple of nights but he'll get the hang of it. Could be the gals were pecking him down off the roosts for a bit but it sounds like they are accepting him now but he doesn't know it's safe to go back in the water, so to speak.

 

[Grace11]

I'm with Beekissed, young fella just isnt ready to roost in a new place and the gals seem to like him so they r keeping him company. Beekissed advice was what I would do too.

 

[TalkALittle]

Same thing happened when I was gifted a young bantam roo. He roosted down low on the edge of a nest box because the older, larger ladies were too intimidating. I figured he'd eventually get over it but before long I had 3 or 4 of the flock trying to squeeze on that one nest box with him. I just started moving him to the main roost and before long he roosted there himself and took all his ladies back up there with him.

 

[HariSeldon]

My chickens, all from the same batch, so no interest in roosting at night. They all huddle together in the same corner. My rooster sits sentry at the door. So they may be sleeping wherever the rooster sleeps?