Why are 5-8 week old birds huddling in a group by the wall at night?

[morrisandy]

I lost 5 rir ,a Ply Rock and a red sex link to crows 3 days ago so need less to say my 14x35 run is now covered.
I have 7 Ameracuna hens that I just got yesterday, I had 2 rir and one each Ply rock ,red sl and 2 Cornish crosses that survived the attack ---now my origional giels--all hatched about April 6 wont go into the coop and choose to spend the night huddeled under the coop
The new hens went right into the coop the first night but they are 2 years old---will the young ones get the hint or do I need to put them in at night for awhile?
Also--in 3 days we have gotten 2 eggs from the new girls???do the stress when moved and take awhile to settle in--if so how long should that take
NEW TO THE CHICKEN GAME

 

[TinyLittleFarm]

Mine roost all piled together in the corner, leaving a good 8 feet of roosting space untouched. Some of them even sleep on the poop boards

just so they can get into the chicken pile a little more deeply. Silly chickens.

 

[SugarDuck]

Our young chicks won't be old enough to lay until August but all 8 of them that are that age huddled together all the time at night. They would huddle in one corner. Out of the 8 one is a roo and one is a male guinea. It changed just a few days ago and now they all roost side by side on the bar? Not sure what changed but they finally stopped the group huddle all night. I'm sure it's all a natural progression. They will still do a small group huddle but then they all find room on the roost.

On a side tracking note (sorry I have ADD) mine like to roost on the deck railing during the day while they are running the backyard.

 

[illegal avian]

Quote:
If they were not spooked they are cold. 50 to 60 degrees is cold for young chickens.

Here's a little experiment just to see:
Next time the sun sets and it is 50 to 60 degrees... Go stand around outside til sun-up in your underwear.

 

[gryeyes]

Quote:
*snorting diet pepsi across the desk*

That is the best way anybody has EVER put "night temps" into perspective for me. Now I don't feel bad about keeping my chicks inside until at least 8 weeks old, and sometimes a bit longer; temperatures here have YET to top 50 degrees at night! Really odd for this part of the state, but I guess it's really odd everywhere now.

My 16 week olds huddle together, because they haven't learned to roost together yet. They're not in a pile, just wing to wing, or breast to thigh. Touching, but not piled onto one another.

 

[Woofless]

Quote:
LOL!!! I have to wonder what would happen if the landlord and his (very) handsome farm-help would say if they came around to my place in time to see that (the tractor shed is behind my house and they're there early every morning to start planting work LOL). I'd be the talk of the town in no time at all!!!

In all honesty, I probably wouldn't find mid to high 50's to be THAT cold even if I was nekkid

.....I honestly didn't stop to consider that it might bother the chicks, seeing as how they're fully feathered.

My mom has always sworn I'm part polar bear....the fact that I chose to live in South Dakota after being born & raised in Florida was the convincing moment for her . When fall temps arrive, I open up all the windows in the house as soon as nighttime temps dip below 45, and I don't shut the windows OR turn my heat on until the temps get cold enough for the pipes to freeze at night

.

I think all thru last winter (S. Dakota) I never turned the household heat higher than 65 degrees, and that was during the blizzards and sub-zero weather. It's gotta be pretty darn brutally cold outside for me to need the heat indoors for my own comfort. Friends never want to visit me in the winter for some reason LOL

Nice thing is, my propane bill in the winter is dirt cheap (I pay less than half what my neighbors with more efficient, newer houses pay)....but I make up for it in the summertime when I run the A/C on the "meat locker" setting any time I'm at home, beginning around early May at least. Still, it's a much cheaper energy bill than I ever could have asked for when living in Florida!!!

My A/C has been running every day & night since my chickens went outside a couple weeks ago so I guess I thought they would be warm enough!! Glad you mentioned something, it's easy for me to forget that not everyone/everything is as cold tolerant as I am.

Either way, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one experiencing this with my chickens. Maybe I'll pile up some more straw in that area to keep them warmer, too. I did move the roost to the wall where they're piling up, and when I put several of my reds up there, one of my EE's and my little banty hopped up on their own. But by the time I got up to leave, all but one was back on the ground again. LOL. Maybe they will get the hang of it soon!

Thanks everybody for all the feedback, I appreciate it!!!

 

[Jasmine1998]

Mine like to pile up on top of the nesting boxes. It drives me nuts. The other night they were doing this & it was 85 in the coop. They are all panting like they are going to have heat stroke & still insisting on laying in a big pile. Can't say they are very intelligent.

 

[beachchickie]

Once mine start to lay they don't huddle up. I think they are insecure, maybe a safety in numbers thing. They all stick together like glue in the yard as well. Where 1 goes they all go.

 

[HennyJenny]

I have 30 some odd 8 week olds stacking themselves up between to sets of 2x4 studs (literally stacking) about 4 birds high behind the door. Those who can't get in the stack pile are in front in a stack. I guess the top layer is "roosting". Last night I attempted to disassemble the pile and set a few of the smarter ones on the roost - the pile recreated itself like a swarm of bees. I looked at them - said "that is one of the dumbest things I have ever seen" and I closed the door on the whole mess. That isn't going to feel good to anyone in another couple of pounds - I'm calling it Darwin at work and assume they'll figure it out.

 

[buffalobaroness]

I am so glad I found these posts. I love yours Henny Jenny. I needed a good laugh! I was worried about my girls. They huddle as well. They pile on top of each other in the corner of the coop at night. They all go in about the same time each night. We go down and spend a little time with them feeding them a few treats and when it gets dark they all go into the coop but you can hear them scratching to pile into the corner right when they get into the coop. It is 100 degrees outside so I know they are not cold. They are 10 weeks old. I hope this silly behavior stops soon. They certainly won't be laying any eggs as long as they are too busy playing chick-pile.