2 chickens staying on roost until 2pm

[Chickie77]

I have a small flock of four older hens (7 years old-ish) and for the last 6 weeks or so, two of them have been staying up in the roost well into midday, sometimes until 2 or 3 p.m. Both are molting, but gently. Last week, my leghorn passed away (she was not roosting late), and now the other chicken, who had been an early bird like her, is staying up on the roost all day with the other two. They do eventually come down for a few hours and appear to be healthy, comfortable, and eating/drinking, but I am trying to make sure they are not in need of medical care or something else.

I have, on occasion, seen the flock hop up there for a few hours, presumably because a predator came by, but never day after day, and staying as late as they are doing lately. I don't know if the flock has just gotten small enough that this has changed their behavior.

It's also been unseasonably hot here, and I have an AC that cools their coop down earlier in the PM and longer into the AM, just to give them a nice recovery period on 100+ days, so maybe they're avoiding the heat? They do seem to come down after I turn it off, but even on cooler days when there is no AC, they are staying up there much longer than they have historically.

Or maybe this is the life of the menopausal chicken? The two that had been coming down normally are still laying. These other girls may lay a little, but obviously not lately due to their molts.

 

[aart]

They may be staying in to enjoy that AC.

I've seen molting hens stay isolated, often on the roost, but only for a few days at most.

Not sure what your scenario might indicate.
Have you checked them over for external parasites?

Or maybe this is the life of the menopausal chicken?

Nah.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Hmm, have you tried manually putting them on the floor and seeing what they do? My remaining 8 yr old hen likes using a human elevator - she CAN get down (and has done that consistently since she began molting) but the past spring and summer she was waiting for me to come and pick her up and put her on the floor instead.

I'd mostly be worried about dehydration if they're up there that long each day, even with the coop being cooled off.