Why? Do they hate to roost.

[doghamstyluv95]

My chickens hate to roost on the perches that we have for them. They have to sleep on a table because when we remove the table, they will not sleep on the roosts, they sleep in a corner on the floor. Anyway to fix this? The thing is that when they sleep on the table, they sleep in their poop and I know that this is not healthy at all.

 

[rosyposyosy]

do you have silkies? silkies dont roost. um.. what are you using for a roost right now?

 

[doghamstyluv95]

We have 1 silkie, the rest are regular chickens.

We have wood for the roosts but like I said they never use them.

 

[rosyposyosy]

are they round? how big is the diameter?

 

[chickenworld]

My chickens at first also didn't roost at all on their wooden perches. But then I ajusted it and I placed them on it to show them where it was and now they sleep there every night (I've also read that they much prefer roosting than sleeping on the ground). I hope I've helped!

 

[WoodlandWoman]

They may not like the size, shape, material, height or position of the roost. Can you describe your roost a little more or possibly post a picture? That might help.

Or, they are just peculiar.

 

[silkiechicken]

I would venture to guess they like to sleep on the table because their feet can be flat. Unlike most birds, they do not hold the perch they sleep on. Wider roosts?

 

[barg]

Chickens also go through a phase around 7-10 weeks, somewhere around there, where they seem to like to sleep on the floor, but I agree that you also may need to use a different material.. 2x4's wide side up works for my chickens.

 

[ZuniBee]

I'm having a problem with roosting as well. Hopefully your answer will help me too. I have a coop with four top hats. They used to sleep on the floor and now they sleep on top of the light fixture. It is a fluorescent light about three feet long and two feet wide with about 6 to 8 inches from the ceiling. One night I went into the coop and they were gone. I just happened to hear a noise and looked up and they were looking down at me!

Today I put chicken wire around the light so they can't get up there. I'm hoping they will roost on the 2x4 perches. If there is a secret to get them to roost I want to know too....

 

[DuckLady]

You may have to put them on the roost after dark.
As mentioned, if the roost doesn't support them comfortably, they won't use it.
We use 2 x 4s with the wide side up so they have lots of area to tuck their feet.