Should my rooster be “roosting”?

[deviflux]

First time rooster mama here…

This is probably a dumb question, but I want to make sure all my fluffbutts are happy and comfy.

My first ever rooster is just hitting maturity (19 weeks) and he doesn’t roost anymore. At night he sleeps at the top of the indoor ramp facing outward and blocking the doorway. All the ladies are inside on roosts.

Is this normal roo behavior - is he just protecting his hens?

I noticed as he’s gotten larger he doesn’t jump up on things anymore and just wanted to make sure it was natural and not that he doesn’t have low enough spots to chill on.

Picture of my handsome boy just because

 

[jpalmatier83]

Nice looking bird.

Not normal, no. Roos will roost at the same level as the hens.

That said, at 19 weeks? This is probably just odd adolescent behavior he has to get out of his system.

My experience with cockerels/Roos is that they start to settle around 24-36 weeks but don’t exhibit really lasting behavior until about 12-18 months.

He’s probably in a swagger phase but will grow out of it.

Last thought - this is assuming that there isn’t a physical reason (roof too close to roost so he CANT get on it) that he wouldn’t hop up with the ladies.

Edit - I just reread… You leave your coop open at night? Is the run/entrance totally secured? Was there maybe a predator intrusion at some point that makes the cockerel/roo think he has to stand guard? It’d be advanced behavior for a 19 week old, but maybe a possibility?

 

[JedJackson]

Some chickens just like to be on the ground. It may just be temporary or it may be long term. My thought is that he's growing fast and perhaps he's just trying to get a grip on his coordination. It could also be that he wants to cool down a bit. If there are no others signs of trouble, I would leave well enough alone for now.

 

[Tired old Rooster]

He should be roosting. best to investigate why he is not. Space on the roosts? Too high? He is too heavy?

 

[deviflux]

Nice looking bird.

Not normal, no. Roos will roost at the same level as the hens.

That said, at 19 weeks? This is probably just odd adolescent behavior he has to get out of his system.

My experience with cockerels/Roos is that they start to settle around 24-36 weeks but don’t exhibit really lasting behavior until about 12-18 months.

He’s probably in a swagger phase but will grow out of it.

Last thought - this is assuming that there isn’t a physical reason (roof too close to roost so he CANT get on it) that he wouldn’t hop up with the ladies.

Edit - I just reread… You leave your coop open at night? Is the run/entrance totally secured? Was there maybe a predator intrusion at some point that makes the cockerel/roo think he has to stand guard? It’d be advanced behavior for a 19 week old, but maybe a possibility?

The coop is two fully enclosed roosting/nesting spaces at either end of a protected/covered “run”. They are locked in at night but both sides have small open entryways into the interior “run”. This batch sleeps in the upper enclosed area that has a ramp up to it. He actually is “in” with them. He sits at the top of the ramp, inside the small entryway facing out so nothing can get in. Their roost is maybe 2 feet off the ground with several feet of headroom above and plenty of room on the roost for everyone.

I might try adding a shorter roost to give him the option of roosting and see what happens.

 

[deviflux]

Some chickens just like to be on the ground. It may just be temporary or it may be long term. My thought is that he's growing fast and perhaps he's just trying to get a grip on his coordination. It could also be that he wants to cool down a bit. If there are no others signs of trouble, I would leave well enough alone for now.

Even when they are all outside free ranging, he tends to just sit nearby on the ground and watch. I chalked it up to his crazy growth spurt lowering his energy a bit. He’s otherwise seemingly normal and starting to work on his leadership skills.

 

[jpalmatier83]

Yeah. No reason a 19week can’t jump up 2 feet. And if there’s several (2-3+?) feet of clearance above hes not hitting his head trying to jump up.

At his age, barring another explanation, I’d guess odd teenager behavior.

 

[Liberty-Chicken]

I'm pretty sure the rooster isn't guarding the hens. To me it seems like he probably got heavy and got lazy to jump up to be with the hens. We have some big roosters who sleep on the ground, as well as some heavy hens.

 

[jpalmatier83]

Long shot question , what are the roosts made of? In my first run I used 1 1/2” dowels. Some birds would not use them. When I switched to a 2x4 on its wide side, that solved the problem.

 

[deviflux]

Long shot question , what are the roosts made of? In my first run I used 1 1/2” dowels. Some birds would not use them. When I switched to a 2x4 on its wide side, that solved the problem.

They’ve got 2x4s with the edges sanded down so they’re rounded.