Why wont my 7 month old hens get on their roosting bars?

[Eggvillan]

I have 3 hens - they are silkie / Easter egger cross-breeds. 2 of them have the floofy crown (and dont see that well), one does not.

I've put roosting bars at 3 different heights, and made a ramp up to the lowest one, but my girls WILL. NOT. GET. ON. THEM. (pic attached). the bars are 2x3s and 2x4s witht he longer side facing up. The lowest one is maybe a foot off the ground.

2 of them usually roost in the doorway at night, the other nuzzles on the shavings in the corner. Its getting cold, and i need to start closing their door nightly - i'm worried that they'll be too cold on the floor of their (raised) coop. Am i doing something wrong? Do i need to be worried? what if they simply never roost?

 

[ChickNanny13]

You could try putting them on the roost once it's dark. I've had to do that with the last set of 4BOs I had. Other's I've had in the past, all went to roost. I now have 4Whitings that will be 10wks next Monday ... They sleep at the corner of the door to their CH, I've gone out with flashlight to check where they're at (9pm). In the mornings (6:30 - 7am) they're on the top roost & fly down to meet me. I'd prefer them on the top roost as I have a poop board under it & makes cleaning simple. I'm letting it play out to see what and if they'll ever roost.

A friend of mine has (same age) 2Whitings & Light Brahma that were roosting but she then added (same age) a Polish & Ameraucana (MM mystery chick) ... Now they all sleep down in the corner with the Polish. The AM keeps the rest away from the Polish, cute.

 

[----------]

silkies like to cuddle for the warmth .when they get wet it goes all the through . chickens of other breeds water will slide off so they love getting in little piles to stay warm so make floor a little thicker for them . their hair is like silk like their name

 

[RaineyTN]

How long have they been in that coop

 

[Tortoise]

I have 2, 6 month old Eng. Orp pullets that also will not roost. They used too. Then I always found the roost pushed up out of its prefabbed coop brackets and them in the corner.
I have since made them 3 more roosts all out of 2x4 and 1 wider plus they still have the original round one. All different levels and areas of coop.
They still have not used them that I know of.
Tonight I put them up on one in Hope's they will start doing it themselves. They didnt jump down so they stay there.
Tomorrow I will be adding a camera so I can keep track of it and also of the coop temps.
I think if you do as someone suggested and what I did, they probably will catch on.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

They look too high to me for something that has silkie in it. Generally I start my roosts at 6-12 inches for bantam or bantam mixes. Remove the ramp and add another lower roost, and see if that helps.

 

[feathermaid]

How long have they been in that coop

^^ X2
Did you raise them from chicks?
Did they ever have a perch or something to practice their grip strength in the brooder?
Most silkies don't roost and would rather sleep in a pile, maybe your xbreed pullets have more silkie traits.

You can try to train them to use a roost. I would remove all the roosts and just place a single bar a few inches off ground level, low enough to just step onto. You'll have to place each bird on the roost at night, and they probably won't move off in the dark. Repeat every night for at least a week and they should start doing it on their own. Maybe later on you can raise the roost height a bit more, maybe. Or they could just decide they like sleeping on the floor.