Bantams not Roosting

[smdcleland]

Hey everyone. I recently set up a Bantam coop (my standards were picking on them). I've noticed they are not roosting at night through. I have 3, and all 3 sleep in the bedding at the bottom of the coop. The roosting bars are not very high... would that be a reason? Should I raise them and see if that helps? One of them sleeps in a nesting box, and I've read that isn't good for egg laying reasons.

 

[_-Captain BRM-_]

You always want the roost to be higher than the nesting boxes.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The roosting bars are not very high... would that be a reason? Should I raise them and see if that helps? One of them sleeps in a nesting box, and I've read that isn't good for egg laying reasons.

A photo of the roosts showing the relationship to the nests could be helpful. It's a whole lot easier for me to answer these questions if I know what you are working with. It is possible raising the roosts could help.

Do they play on the roosts during the day and just not sleep on them at night? How old are they? Some can sleep on the roosts at a pretty young age but some wait until later. What breed are they? Some can't fly, like Silkies.

Were they roosting in the other coop?

There are several different things that could be going on. Some information to narrow it down could help.

 

[smdcleland]

A photo of the roosts showing the relationship to the nests could be helpful. It's a whole lot easier for me to answer these questions if I know what you are working with. It is possible raising the roosts could help.

Do they play on the roosts during the day and just not sleep on them at night? How old are they? Some can sleep on the roosts at a pretty young age but some wait until later. What breed are they? Some can't fly, like Silkies.

Were they roosting in the other coop?

There are several different things that could be going on. Some information to narrow it down could help.

This is the coop I bought. As you can see, the roosting bars are not very high. Also, I think I need to add a slot at the top for ventilation.

I don't really see them on the roosting bars during the day.

One is a Polish/Cochrin cross that's a year and a half, one is a D'Uccle that is a year and a half, one is a D'Uccle that is 6 months, and one is a Americana/Cochrin cross that is 3 months.

 

[FC16]

This is the coop I bought. As you can see, the roosting bars are not very high. Also, I think I need to add a slot at the top for ventilation.

View attachment 3234964

I don't really see them on the roosting bars during the day.

One is a Polish/Cochrin cross that's a year and a half, one is a D'Uccle that is a year and a half, one is a D'Uccle that is 6 months, and one is a Americana/Cochrin cross that is 3 months.

You may be able to alter them so that the roosting bars are a bit higher, I think that could be the reason, I did this in my old prefab coop and they immediately moved from the nest box to the roosting bars.
The 6 month old should be roosting really at that age, but I guess sometimes different chickens do things at different times.
If the the two younger ones are still at an age where they like do lay in the nest at night, the older one will most likely follow them as I read that chickens like to be near each other at night time.

 

[smdcleland]

The bars come off so it will be easy to raise them. I am definitely going to do that. It is just odd that all 4 of them refuse to roost!

The coop is much too small for standard chickens, but seems good for Bantams, since they are so tiny.

 

[Ridgerunner]

They are all old enough to be roosting and they can all fly. I'll bet the one in the nest is the three month old. Mine tend to not sleep with the adults until they mature so they look for a safe place to sleep not with the adults. In that tiny coop the nest is the only place it can get away from the adults. Where was it sleeping in the old coop, more for curiosity than because I need to know for this problem.

Raising the roosts might help. You are limited in that small coop as to how much you can raise them but 6" might be enough. If they don't move up there at night on their own you can try putting them on the roost after dark if you have access to do that. They often get that message pretty quickly.

It does not hurt them to sleep on the floor. A broody hen keeps her chicks on the floor at night until she takes them to the roost. Brooder raised chicks sleep in a group on the floor. Some grown chickens, not limited to Silkies that can't fly, sleep on the floor even if they can get to roosts. I know a lot of what you read on here makes you think they have to roost but civilization as we know it will not be forever changed if your chickens sleep on the floor.

The reason you don't want chickens sleeping in the nest is that you can get poopy eggs. Are you getting poopy eggs? Can you manage them in a way to not get poopy eggs? I do not want my chickens of any age sleeping in the nests, but my coop is big enough that I can manage them so they don't sleep in the nests. I can't see how to do that in yours, at least not with my methods. Eventually that pullet should mature enough to start sleeping with the others. That might be relatively soon or it could be a few months.

If you are not getting poopy eggs you can try to let it go until she is mature enough to move. You can try blocking the nests off after the others have laid for the day and force her to find some other place to sleep. Open them back up either after they have all gone to bed or before they lay in the morning. Mine sometimes lay before I get down there in the morning so it would have to be after dark for me.

The risk to this is that some grown hens can be picky about who sleeps close to them. One may attack that pullet as they are settling in to sleep at night. That's why she is sleeping in the nest, to be safe. It is possible she will find a place to sleep that she will be fine. She may not want to go into the coop to sleep. This is the route I'd go if I were getting poopy eggs. It has a real chance at working.

That coop should be fine for four bantams once the younger one grows up. It may work now. When you separated these four out you changed their pecking order, they have to establish a new one for this flock. Sounds like that part is going really well. The only real issue I see is whether or not you are getting poopy eggs.

 

[FC16]

They are all old enough to be roosting and they can all fly. I'll bet the one in the nest is the three month old. Mine tend to not sleep with the adults until they mature so they look for a safe place to sleep not with the adults. In that tiny coop the nest is the only place it can get away from the adults. Where was it sleeping in the old coop, more for curiosity than because I need to know for this problem.

Raising the roosts might help. You are limited in that small coop as to how much you can raise them but 6" might be enough. If they don't move up there at night on their own you can try putting them on the roost after dark if you have access to do that. They often get that message pretty quickly.

It does not hurt them to sleep on the floor. A broody hen keeps her chicks on the floor at night until she takes them to the roost. Brooder raised chicks sleep in a group on the floor. Some grown chickens, not limited to Silkies that can't fly, sleep on the floor even if they can get to roosts. I know a lot of what you read on here makes you think they have to roost but civilization as we know it will not be forever changed if your chickens sleep on the floor.

The reason you don't want chickens sleeping in the nest is that you can get poopy eggs. Are you getting poopy eggs? Can you manage them in a way to not get poopy eggs? I do not want my chickens of any age sleeping in the nests, but my coop is big enough that I can manage them so they don't sleep in the nests. I can't see how to do that in yours, at least not with my methods. Eventually that pullet should mature enough to start sleeping with the others. That might be relatively soon or it could be a few months.

If you are not getting poopy eggs you can try to let it go until she is mature enough to move. You can try blocking the nests off after the others have laid for the day and force her to find some other place to sleep. Open them back up either after they have all gone to bed or before they lay in the morning. Mine sometimes lay before I get down there in the morning so it would have to be after dark for me.

The risk to this is that some grown hens can be picky about who sleeps close to them. One may attack that pullet as they are settling in to sleep at night. That's why she is sleeping in the nest, to be safe. It is possible she will find a place to sleep that she will be fine. She may not want to go into the coop to sleep. This is the route I'd go if I were getting poopy eggs. It has a real chance at working.

That coop should be fine for four bantams once the younger one grows up. It may work now. When you separated these four out you changed their pecking order, they have to establish a new one for this flock. Sounds like that part is going really well. The only real issue I see is whether or not you are getting poopy eggs.

I think their issue was that all 3 of them were sleeping in the nest box, rather than just the 1 pullet.

 

[smdcleland]

Thank you. I'm going to raise the bars, and if it's not a big deal that they like the floor, I won't worry about it much. So far I haven't seen any poopy eggs.