Roost problems - are my girls "stupid"???

[Mander13]

Hello ya'll. first time posting (anywhere) but my concern for my girls outweighs my reluctance to post....
We have four chicken strippers (husband named them after strippers - Desiree, Lexxus, Starr & Jazzmin). They will be 18 was this coming Friday (7/25).
On more than one occasion they've spent all ( ALL) day on their perches without coming down.
Some days they will get off their perches and play in their run all day. Other days, they stay on their perches and b***h all day to/ wanting to come down.
Is this normal or are my girls "stupid"???
Anyone....? I'm worried!
Thanks
Mander (A new chicken mama!)

 

[HEChicken]

How high are the perches? How much space do they have when they get down? Since it is summer, is it possible they are staying in the shade when on the perches whereas if they got down they'd be in the sun?

It does sound like unusual behavior but hopefully with some more information we can help you narrow down the possible reasons….

Welcome!

 

[ailurophile23]

I would definitely think about their options for getting down as well. They need space to jump/fly down onto the floor of the coop or "steps" to hop down. One of my hens is currently starting to molt and so it is harder for her to get off the perch in the mornings since she cannot fly as well due to feather loss. She figured out that she can jump to a slightly lower "step" (top of the nest boxes) from the top roost and then hop down to the floor of the coop once I move the lowest roost out of her way. Sometimes they just need more space to fly down or steps or a ladder so it is a more controlled descent.

 

[aart]

Can you post a pic of the inside of the coop and the perches?

 

[Mander13]

Thanks for the replies, y'all. I think we had the roost poles too high without a clear "landing strip". We redid them ladder style, and they got up just fine, but it looks like they are too far apart for them to get back down. Or they are just big "chickens". I will redo them again and close in the spacing between the roost boards. If that doesn't work, I'll post a picture and see if y'all have any better ideas.

 

[HEChicken]

If it helps, look at the "my blog' link in my signature. In the search bar on the blog, search for "roost" and it will take you to my own roost saga. I started with a ladder style roost with bars at 2', 4', and 6' levels. It was a huge failure because all the birds wanted to be on the top roost so bed time was a fight. Every night. Despite that roost being full, birds would continue to jump up there, knocking off one or two who already had a place established and they would then return and try to regain their spot and…it was stressful for all of us. Then I started having birds develop Bumble-foot - a problem I'd never had before - because instead of stepping back down from the top roost, they'd fly down.

Long story short, I took apart my ladder style roost and rebuilt it. I now have more roost space and less stress. And no more Bumble-foot. Win-win-win.

 

[aart]

If it helps, look at the "my blog' link in my signature. In the search bar on the blog, search for "roost" and it will take you to my own roost saga. I started with a ladder style roost with bars at 2', 4', and 6' levels. It was a huge failure because all the birds wanted to be on the top roost so bed time was a fight. Every night. Despite that roost being full, birds would continue to jump up there, knocking off one or two who already had a place established and they would then return and try to regain their spot and…it was stressful for all of us. Then I started having birds develop Bumble-foot - a problem I'd never had before - because instead of stepping back down from the top roost, they'd fly down.

Long story short, I took apart my ladder style roost and rebuilt it. I now have more roost space and less stress. And no more Bumble-foot. Win-win-win.

Good Story http://selfsufficiencyandotherassortedhijinks.wordpress.com/2013/11/22/bumble-foot/ who/what is SAB?

Chicken Chick has a graphic pictorial/video of bumble foot surgery.

 

[HEChicken]

Good Story http://selfsufficiencyandotherassortedhijinks.wordpress.com/2013/11/22/bumble-foot/ who/what is SAB?

LOL - to maintain anonymity we gave each family member an acronym (its in the "about" page but the link to that is kind of small so most people never see it, I suspect). SAB stands for "Switched At Birth" which is what we think MUST have happened to our eldest, because it is hard to believe we produced a child so different from us and who shows so little interest in what we are doing out here