They're not using the roost

Been in there 2 nights now and last night I went out around midnight and no one was on a roost! I was surprised. Should I pick one up and put her on a roost so they get the idea or just wait til they figure it out.

They weren't nearly as eager to go down the ladder and pack around outside yesterday as they were the first day. I wonder why. I wonder if it's because the first day I put their food and water in the run instead of leaving it in the coop. I figured they'd just go up and down if they wanted anything. There is a lot for them to peck at on the ground because I left a bunch of stuff for them in the way of weeds and such. It's not grass tho, it's like a weed patch.

When I put grass in their brooder, they went nuts picking at it.

they will move around.. how old are they?

some people do put them on the roost at night, myself, i have five. my 3 silkies never roost but the buff and sex linked jumped on the roost after a week or so in the new coop..

It takes time but they will get used to it. Chickens adapt to change after a few days, but it does affect them. When we first put a roost in our little ones pen it took a while and now they are on it all the time. Our big ones stopped laying eggs for a while when we moved them to the new pen. They take a while to adjust but they do adjust.

I can tell they're 'adjusting' because they really went way off their normal behaviour. And they try like the dickens to get out of that thing! When I open a door, half of them crowd around and try and push out. I really look forward to the day when I can let them out to free range.

Chickens are so funny.
We just put two more babies in with other chicks and the mama back in her pen. The babies were getting big and mama hen was thinking it was about time to let them be on their own. It will be an adjustment for them but soon they will be running with the other 3 like they had been there all along.

Gwen, they will adjust, honest they will.
It took ours a few days to get on the roost, and I think the first time we put one on it, not that it stayed there long the first time.
Ours also had a little roost in there box with then when they were young, so they started learning to roost early, but when they got moved, they seemed to forget how for a while.
It comes very natural to a chicken. Our leghorns would roost in the tree near the coop.

They had a roost in their brooder but never used it at all.

Right now they're all lined up on a little ledge right next to the opening that goes down the ladder. Silly birds! At least they have the 'all lined up in a row' part down.

I'll give them another week or so and then if they're not roosting, I'll try putting one up on the roost so at least one of them knows it's there!

Man, I am having the same problem. None of mine will use the roost!

I have ten buff brahmas, about three and a half months old. They do go outside, in fact they spend most of the day outside in their run. But at night they all troup into the coop in a given order with the last one struggling against all of the others to fit through the door. There is plenty of room for all of them to spread out on the floor even if they didn't want to use the roosts, but no. All of them plop right down in front of the door, sometimes right on top of each other, and there they sleep until I push some of them out of the way to close the door at night. In the morning I open the door and they all come tumbling out from sleeping up against the door. I have checked through the window and seen them walking around to other parts of the coop. I even hung a small feeder in the farthest part of the coop away from the door and they will go and eat there. They seem fine, not afraid or anything like that. I've seen a couple of them using the roosts like ballance beams, but they hop off to go the sleep.

The peacock occasionally will sleep in the coop--he has his own roost out in the run and likes to sleep there the best. He does use the roost. They don't get the picture. There is a horizontal slot type of window just above the roosts. I've tried leaving this open at night, and tried closing it at night. Makes no difference to them.

I'm kind of worried about what they will do when they start laying eggs. One of these days am I going to open the door in the morning and chickens and eggs all come tumbling out?!?

This message was edited Aug 14, 2009 2:34 PM

LOL

I have their nests blocked off because I was afraid they'd learn to sleep in there. But I just know they are not going to 'get it' when it comes time for them to lay eggs!

When I approach the coop/run, most of them will rush over to where I am and when I open whichever door I open, they try and get out. I've had to practically hurt of couple to get the door closed without them coming out. One even jumped down quite a ways one day when I opened the top door to their coop. I really wish I could let them out totally to free range but they're still too small to fight off our cat and light enough that I'm afraid they would fly and be hard to catch. Sometimes I take one at a time out and hold her. I think they 'come' to me because I may have a treat, not because they want to be held though.

I'm really unsure how much to feed them. I feel like maybe I'm not feeding them enough. For 7 hens, what size feeder should I have? I'm still using the brood feeder and it's too small, I'm refilling constantly.

I have a feed box built onto the wall and its full all the time,mine are never without food and water.They should have acess to food and water at all times.

Green, I agree about the water, but am uncertain about the food. I'd like to encourage them to eat what they find free ranging and not be lazy and rely on the store bought food. I'm thinking about providing food from sundown til morning and then taking it away during the day. Surely they wouldn't starve if I did that, would they?

I think some large relatively inactive breeds (e.g. Brahmas and Cochins) can get fat if overfed. I'm not sure how you would moderate their eating if they were on free feed. I do know that overweight birds have all kinds of health problems...

Sadly, if I were a chicken I would be a large inactive one....and someone would be giving me metered feedings.

LOLOL I'd probably be right in there with you!

I`m not sure about the free ranging because mine are in the 60ft pen,I guress if I were going to free range in the daytime and I was a chicken then I would much rather eat bug and such then store bought food.But then you have the lazy ones that would rather eat store bought than go out and work for it.LOL

I feed mine in the morning. One scoop of grow feed in the hanging feeder and two scoops of feed and scratch feed on the ground. I mix grit in with the ground feed and they have a pan with extra grit if they want it. They also get treats in the evening, vegie and fruit pieces left over from fixing supper. They seem to be very active and are constantly looking for bugs, etc. around the run. They don't look skinny to me. The rooster crows and the chickens cluck (none of them are very loud). They are not sleeping in the nesting boxes, just not on the roosts.

I'll have to keep an eye out for them getting fat. Catscan, how can you tell?

i keep food and water in the coop all the time. mine cant wait to get out in the morning and run around..if they get hungry or thirsty to go in, but are right back out..they want to be outside..ill also toss grit and scratch outside in the morning, and they cant wait to get at it..

My chickens were free range... they aren't like kids, going for the processed stuff over fresh greens. Mine much preferred fresh bugs, greens, mice, meat bones, old veggies, manure over those dull pellets, which were always available but didn't get eaten much in the summer. I'd only used corn to bring them in in the evening.... here chick, chick... and they'd come running. A couple of handfuls for a dozen birds.

mine wont go in at nite unless they get their popcorn!! they love it..and it give them something to mess with before they get on the roost.. they are my spoiled babies..LOL

It occurs to me... you might check the roost... is it comfy for little birdie feet? If it has sharp edges rather than rounded, they may not like it.

The edges are rounded. I hope it's not too high up near the ceiling, maybe they feel crowded. I honesty don't think they even know the roosts are up there. They're way up in the peak of the roof.