Roost placement

[alixd]

I had a new coop built and I have a question on the placement of the roosts because we recently adopted a new pullet and she will not go into the roost instead sleeps in the door with her head in and butt stuck out. Should I add additional roosts??, I currently have 3 hens, 2 sit on the roost, the pullet sits in the door. I plan on adding one more hen once she is ready and old enough to join the others. See picturesView attachment 3957885View attachment 3957886

 

[GodLovesU]

I don’t think it’s necessarily a space issue.My pullets always roost on the ground for the first few weeks.

 

[rosemarythyme]

How long has she been with the other birds? Does she get along with them well enough?

Does she sit on that little perch by the pop door, or on the sill of the door itself?

 

[alixd]

How long has she been with the other birds? Does she get along with them well enough?

Does she sit on that little perch by the pop door, or on the sill of the door itself?

We have one aggressive hen that she spars with, but they get along well enough.

She sits on the sill of the door itself; she does not sit on the little perch by the pop door.

In the late afternoon she looks in trying to figure out how to get on the perch but just can't seem to get it done.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I would remove the perch from by the door and see if that helps. I would also replace the existing perch with a 2x4 laid flat. What are the dimensions of the coop in feet, lxw?

 

[alixd]

I would remove the perch from by the door and see if that helps. I would also replace the existing perch with a 2x4 laid flat. What are the dimensions of the coop in feet, lxw?

Hi, the dimensions of the coop/roost area is 43" long x 32" wide and 42" high. On the bottom of the roost area I have straw and pine shavings. If I had a 2x4 laid flat how high would you recommend from the bottom of the roost area so that they could jump up or would you have the 2x4 laid flat extend from the door area?

 

[aart]

Hi, the dimensions of the coop/roost area is 43" long x 32" wide and 42" high. On the bottom of the roost area I have straw and pine shavings. If I had a 2x4 laid flat how high would you recommend from the bottom of the roost area so that they could jump up or would you have the 2x4 laid flat extend from the door area?

I would put the roost away from the pop door and just higher than the nests(to avoid nest sleeping).

 

[BigBlueHen53]

So, the coop is a little less than 4' x 3'. Or a little less than 12 sq. ft.
12÷4 is 3.
Generally it's thought that chickens do best if we allow about 4 sq ft of floor space per bird, so your coop has room for 3 chickens comfortably, which is what you have, correct, counting the pullet?
How old is the pullet?
My guess is that your aggressive hen is the cause of the pullet not wanting to go in. I'd bet that the aggressor - the bully, if you will - gets on the roost and won't let the pullet up on the roost.
I'm not sure how to fix the problem, if that's what's going on, in such a small space. I know what I would do in my much larger coop. I'd put the bully in a dog crate for about 3 nights where she can't misbehave. Let's ask @aart if she has any suggestions.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Is that pullet laying? Once my pullets start laying they join in the pecking order and move onto the main roosts at night. Until then they are not allowed onto the main roosts by the adults. You can have exceptions so nothing is "always" but mine have been pretty consistent about this. My coop is much larger and I have more chickens so it is not exactly your situation.

When they are going through this, I don't care where my chickens sleep as long as it is predator safe and not in the nests. If you consider your run predator proof I'd probably let her sleep wherever she wants to until she matures enough to force her way into the pecking order. If it is not predator safe I'd want to close that door.

That is a tiny coop. I don't believe in square feet per chicken as much as can they get away from the others if they need to. If an immature chicken invades their personal space my adults are likely to peck it or attack it, otherwise they generally leave them alone. In that coop the pullet probably cannot avoid invading personal space if the door is closed. That makes it hard and is a big reason you need more room during integration than once they are fully integrated.

We have one aggressive hen that she spars with, but they get along well enough.

Does this happen when they are separated or only when the pullet is very close to that hen?

I don't have any great suggestions other than try to give her as much room away from the other two as you can and see what happens.

 

[alixd]

Is that pullet laying? Once my pullets start laying they join in the pecking order and move onto the main roosts at night. Until then they are not allowed onto the main roosts by the adults. You can have exceptions so nothing is "always" but mine have been pretty consistent about this. My coop is much larger and I have more chickens so it is not exactly your situation.

When they are going through this, I don't care where my chickens sleep as long as it is predator safe and not in the nests. If you consider your run predator proof I'd probably let her sleep wherever she wants to until she matures enough to force her way into the pecking order. If it is not predator safe I'd want to close that door.

That is a tiny coop. I don't believe in square feet per chicken as much as can they get away from the others if they need to. If an immature chicken invades their personal space my adults are likely to peck it or attack it, otherwise they generally leave them alone. In that coop the pullet probably cannot avoid invading personal space if the door is closed. That makes it hard and is a big reason you need more room during integration than once they are fully integrated.


Does this happen when they are separated or only when the pullet is very close to that hen?

I don't have any great suggestions other than try to give her as much room away from the other two as you can and see what happens.

Rosemary, thank you so much for your wisdom, I did not realize they had this right of passage. In our old coop I did not have this problem, but we had a mother hen that was nurturing and unfortunately I had to put her down recently at 17 years young. Our coop is predator proof, so I will let them sleep where they want.

Regarding the aggression, it seems to be getting better and there are places for her (road runner) to get away from the older hens. I had to separate road runner pictured for a week and give her oxytetracycline, its been over a week and she was going stir crazy in her cage so I let her out in the big coop, there are still proximity/personal space squabbles but things are getting better. Below are 3 pictures, far right road runner when she was ill, road runner today and far left our coop with the three other hens, 1 hen a oliver egger is about 4 years old, another hen another olive egger with big comb and laying is about 4 months, the easter egger I thought was a pullet but she seems older I got her with road runner (cream crested leghorn) about a month ago. The only one laying right now is the olive egger with the big comb. I'm still giving them half dose corid during this stressful period. I love your comments and appreciate your wisdom. Thank you. Alix