Why won’t my hens roost?

[leebee6]

Hi folks,
I have six young hens about 1 1/2-2 months old. They all are able to get up on the roosts we set up but at night they still want to sleep in the pine shavings in the floor of the coop. I don’t want them to get mites etc. Any suggestions?

 

[KarynVA]

6 weeks old still seems rather young for using actual roosting bars. Maybe they are afraid to jump down? You said they can get up on the roosts but maybe getting down again is too high?

 

[Aapomp831]

Hi folks,
I have six young hens about 1 1/2-2 months old. They all are able to get up on the roosts we set up but at night they still want to sleep in the pine shavings in the floor of the coop. I don’t want them to get mites etc. Any suggestions?

They need time. Most chicks don’t start to roost until they are older. For more just let them be... they need to huddle for warmth and the bonding.

 

[leebee6]

They need time. Most chicks don’t start to roost until they are older. For more just let them be... they need to huddle for warmth and the bonding.

Thanks. That’s what I thought, they might still be young. If we turn the heat lamp on they roost.

 

[Aapomp831]

Thanks. That’s what I thought, they might still be young. If we turn the heat lamp on they roost.

My 9 week old just started roosting; I started picking up the ones who didn’t roost and putting them on the bar. Some would stay, some would just jump right back off. I just let them do their thing... too many chickens to worry about it lol

 

[rosemarythyme]

You can just let them do their own thing and they'll roost when they feel like it, OR you can push the issue and manually put them on the roost until they stick to it. No "right" way to handle it.

Personally I want them roosting so I would put them up even at this age, but I've never had to, as the chicks have always copied older birds and followed them onto the roosts with little urging from me.

 

[TARDIS37379]

My flock of New Jersey Giants didn’t roost until they began to lay at 7 months.
I have a small flock of Minorcans, who at 7 weeks, are beginning to roost.
IMHO it varies by breed, population, the roosts themselves, and if they see adult birds roosting.

 

[thepick4uchicks]

Hi folks,
I have six young hens about 1 1/2-2 months old. They all are able to get up on the roosts we set up but at night they still want to sleep in the pine shavings in the floor of the coop. I don’t want them to get mites etc. Any suggestions?

Hi as you have seen already you will get lots of opinions. I think your chicks are too young yet. You can try to force the issue but it is up to you. They will do it soon enough. Just be sure they can reach the roost bar by either on their own already or with a pit stop like with a ramp or another means of getting up there that remains accessible in the coop with them all the time. Do you have to have a bed available in there to reach the coop at all! (Like having a full size bed pulled out when you need to make a twin bed available in a sunroom bed.) so back goes on the ankle bracelet - ha! Ha! For She is about to pass out with hysterical laughter. she did not nor did he want to live in an area with. P. S. Gotta go for now. Finish this later. Sorry guys.

 

[aart]

If we turn the heat lamp on they roost.

They should be off heat by now.
Are probably warmer still 'puppy piling' on the floor.
Sleeping in the floor will not give them mites...
....unless mites are already present in your coop and on your birds.

Please post pics of your coop showing the roosts.

Oh, would also help to know @leebee6
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[CluckerFamily]

You could add a temporary roost a little lower than the current one or even 1 foot off the ground to encourage them to not sleep on the ground. I make a roost that is 4" off the ground for when the chicks are in the brooder and then they don't hesitate to use the roosts when they are int he coop. They will figure it out.