Young Chicks Sleeping on Floor

[chfriedmam]

Hi, I have 20 chicks, most 6-7 weeks, but 3 that are 5 weeks. They are all living out in their coop here in SoCal, with 1 heat element for the little ones just in case. they have 20 feet of roosting bars that are 48 inches above the ground with a ramp going up, and I have seen some of the birds up their during the day and do find droppings on the trays under the roosting bars. But I realize from the droppings and from observing them tonight that they are all sleeping huddled in a bottom corner of the coop. None are getting trampled or anything, and none are using the heating element either. I tried placing them all up on the roosts, and WHAT A RUCKUS! About 3 of them settled, but the others were fumbling around and falling onto the dropping trays and generally just being fools and clearly terrified and I had to take them down.

What should I do? Should I keep doing this? give a lower bar? Just leave it be for a month or 2? I'm attaching an outside pic just for interest and an inside pic. I've added chicken wire under the roost bars to keep them off poop trays and poop trays on the lower platform.

 

[rosemarythyme]

They should learn to roost on their own, given enough time (I'm not one of those patient people though, I insist that they roost!) When you manually put them up on the roosts, did you do it when it was fully dark, to prevent them from wanting to jump back down?

 

[chfriedmam]

It was after sundown, not fully dark. They didn't try to jump down, they were just scared. I think there's some nooks and crannies between the roosts and the wall i need to plug for their safety, or staple the chicken wire to the bottom of the roosts-only 1-2 of them crouched down on the bar. The rest wanted to pile. I think i better wait a week and try again

 

[Perris]

They are scared because they are not ready for it. Mine are raised by a broody, and they continue to sleep in the nest until they're at least 8 weeks, and then join the grown ups on the roosts when they're ready. I let them decide when they're ready. What's your hurry?

 

[chfriedmam]

They are scared because they are not ready for it. Mine are raised by a broody, and they continue to sleep in the nest until they're at least 8 weeks, and then join the grown ups on the roosts when they're ready. I let them decide when they're ready. What's your hurry?

They just don't seem particularly happy huddled in the corner, plus they are thwarting my poop catching efforts! But if they'll likely learn I'll leave it

 

[rosemarythyme]

It was after sundown, not fully dark. They didn't try to jump down, they were just scared. I think there's some nooks and crannies between the roosts and the wall i need to plug for their safety, or staple the chicken wire to the bottom of the roosts-only 1-2 of them crouched down on the bar. The rest wanted to pile. I think i better wait a week and try again

The next time you try (if you opt to do so) wait until it's fully dark. Using a flashlight is fine, but if the coop is otherwise dark they'll be more likely to stay put after you place them on the roost.

 

[Folara]

Some people like to jump-start roosting with training by placing them up on the roosts every night until they stick to it. It'll be an abrupt change for them, going from a warm, safe huddle with friends to a bar in the air, so expect a ruckus at first! Others prefer to let them figure it out on their own - I've read pullets like to start roosting when they get around point-of-lay.

I wanted my pullets to roost as quickly as possible, but I didn't want to go out in the cold every night to train them so I went with the waiting game instead! My pullets are around 16 weeks now and some are still sleeping in a huddled pile on the coop floor. When they reached around 8-10 weeks I noticed poop piles under the roost bar which tells me some have started roosting, but I'm still cleaning a well-slept-in poop pile every night. I'll be opening the nest boxes soon so if they must continue huddling, I really hope they stick to their normal huddle spot.

So definitely do what works best for you! I will say that a few months sounds like a long time to wait but it will pass quickly and they will be roosting in no time. And when you get more chicks (not if, when!), your current hens will teach them to roost so you can sit back and relax.

 

[sourland]

A lower roost might help them start roosting sooner; otherwise, they will get there when they are ready.

 

[chfriedmam]

Thanks, your replies have shown me that this is a normal behavior, so I'm not going to worry about it. Our last coop was much smaller, and the roost bar was basically the only place to sleep, so that's where they slept. But this one is much bigger. I'll wait for them to go up, but like Folara said I hope they go up before or at least dont try to take to the nest boxes when I open them

 

[raingarden]

I don't have an answer but will note that a hen will have taught her young to roost way before now. It hard to get into the mind of a chicken, but when they go up the ramp into the coop they may consider that roosting even if they sleep on the floor.