Why don't they sit on the roost?

[Aspen47591]

At night, after being shut in the coop, my chickens all huddle together in a corner of the coop, the corner by the door. I often find eggs there. They have just started laying, it isn't a regular thing yet.

They have a nice, three tier roost and rarely use it.

I wish they would. When I open the door, they almost fall out of the door!

Any thoughts? Hub is sure the roosts are the right size--he paid attention to that when he built it.

Thanks.

 

[Wynette]

Can you post a picture of the set-up? You'll get more (and better) feedback if we can visualize the area.

Most folks use 2x4's (4" end up) for roosts. How high is it? It could be that the other tiers are too close to each other, or in a drafty area. Hard to tell. If you can't post a picture, if you could give more details, that would help.

 

[bigzio]

This is normal behavior for a young flock.

They love the company of one another and feel secure together.

Once they become older, the roost will become the place to rest at night.

bigzio

 

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

Mine are all about 12 weeks old and they all cram up on the top roost which is about 5.5 feet off the floor. We have a shorter roost but NONE use that one. lol Are you using round roosts? Or 2x4 laid flat (wide end up) ?

 

[mmajw]

If the roost is not stable or not wide enough they wont use it. Also some chickens have to be shown to use the roost. You may need to go out in the evening and put them up there and you may need to do that for several nights until they get the idea.

 

[ILoveJoe]

My 7 week olds are doing the exact same thing. They are huddled in one corner and Hoss is huddled in another. They were sleeping right up on the door, but have since moved a bit away from it. But once I open that door in the morning and say "Girlie Girls" out they pour.
They use the roosts during the day, but so far not to sleep on.

 

[Heather J]

When I went in to lock my chickens in for the night I had to lift them up onto the roost at night for over a week. Every day or two I noticed more seemed to be getting up onto the roost on their own. For the past two nights I've found them all up there--crammed as close together as they could possibly get. lol

 

[Linda in San Diego]

Mine did that too. In the corner closest to the house where they were raised. Then all of a sudden, they started to roost on the roosts provided. I had started to think that they didn't like the size of the roosts and I was ready to get DH to change them out. But now they are into the routine - just waiting for eggs......