Pullets not using roost bars

Your roosting bars are too high for them. The bars are too far apart.
Nah, they're just preferring a spot that's not the intended roost location. None of OP's birds look to be breeds that have a hard time flying so at 5 weeks old they can easily fly up several feet. And the roosts in the photos appear to be too close together, as noted by several others.
 
Hi all,

First time chicken owner here. Our chicks are now 5 weeks old. We put them in their coop about 1.5 weeks ago. They all seem very healthy and we haven't had any major issues so far. The coop is a converted barn stall and we built a run off the back.

Our only problem is that all 19 of them cram onto the ledge in front of the pop door to roost at night instead of using the roost bars we made. Before that they were roosting in front of the nest boxes (out of the camera frame). We have seen them on the roost bars from time to time, including the very top bar, but they never stay there long. We put a tarp underneath to catch poop but they're making a huge mess on the ledge every night, which is really the only reason we have an issue with it.

Are they cold? It's been pretty hot the last two weeks but nightly lows have started to dip back down to 60-70⁰F.

Is there something about the roost bars that they don't like? Too steep, to wide, is the tarp an issue?

Or are they just being chickens?
I had to place mine on the roost, but they didn't take long for them to get the hang of it
 
Hi all,

First time chicken owner here. Our chicks are now 5 weeks old. We put them in their coop about 1.5 weeks ago. They all seem very healthy and we haven't had any major issues so far. The coop is a converted barn stall and we built a run off the back.

Our only problem is that all 19 of them cram onto the ledge in front of the pop door to roost at night instead of using the roost bars we made. Before that they were roosting in front of the nest boxes (out of the camera frame). We have seen them on the roost bars from time to time, including the very top bar, but they never stay there long. We put a tarp underneath to catch poop but they're making a huge mess on the ledge every night, which is really the only reason we have an issue with it.

Are they cold? It's been pretty hot the last two weeks but nightly lows have started to dip back down to 60-70⁰F.

Is there something about the roost bars that they don't like? Too steep, to wide, is the tarp an issue?

Or are they just being chickens?
Pretty please use 2"x4"s flat, not on edge, as chickens prefer to sleep flat-footed. I read that 10 yrs ago and changed out one roosting bar for a flat 2"x4". No one wanted to roost anywhere else. Then I put a 6" wide board in. Everyone wanted that.
 
Pretty please use 2"x4"s flat, not on edge, as chickens prefer to sleep flat-footed. I read that 10 yrs ago and changed out one roosting bar for a flat 2"x4". No one wanted to roost anywhere else. Then I put a 6" wide board in. Everyone wanted that.
Fyi I had the opposite experience. I had 2x4s turned flat and one board was turned up and they all preferred the narrow board 🤷‍♀️
 
Hi all,

First time chicken owner here. Our chicks are now 5 weeks old. We put them in their coop about 1.5 weeks ago. They all seem very healthy and we haven't had any major issues so far. The coop is a converted barn stall and we built a run off the back.

Our only problem is that all 19 of them cram onto the ledge in front of the pop door to roost at night instead of using the roost bars we made. Before that they were roosting in front of the nest boxes (out of the camera frame). We have seen them on the roost bars from time to time, including the very top bar, but they never stay there long. We put a tarp underneath to catch poop but they're making a huge mess on the ledge every night, which is really the only reason we have an issue with it.

Are they cold? It's been pretty hot the last two weeks but nightly lows have started to dip back down to 60-70⁰F.

Is there something about the roost bars that they don't like? Too steep, to wide, is the tarp an issue?

Or are they just being chickens?
  1. When chickens are young, they tend to sleep in strange places. Even when they are old, they can prefer to sleep somewhere else. My chickens randomly sleep outside of their pens, on top of the pens, and other crazy places. Chickens will be chickens.
  2. The roosting bars are too flat. Use sticks you find around the yard instead as roosting bars, those are the favorites of chickens as long as they do not have any sharp protrusions poking out of them (get those off if you see them on the wood because it can cut a chicken's foot). The best kind of sticks are ones that are big enough to where the chicken does not have to hold on tightly to get a good grip. Those are the kind of roosting branches junglefowl use, so it only makes sense.
  3. The roosting bars are situated where the chickens would poop on the chickens sleeping on the bar below them. Who would want to sleep on roosting bars like that?
  4. Why is that light there? Chickens do not need light when they are sleeping, and it looks pretty blinding. It is also way too close to the roosting bars.
 
If anyone is curious for an update, about a week ago the chickens decided it was time to grow up and sleep on the roost (as many of you suggested would happen). It started with 5 of them and a couple nights later they were all on there. They do insist on cramming themselves onto the very top bar though. All 19 of them. But it's a step in the right direction.
 

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