What time do your chickens put themselves to bed?

[Fire Ant Farm]

That's very sweet. Nice of her flock to help take care of her like that.

Dumbledore is a very special rooster - each time her vision decreased, she'd sit around on the coop floor not doing much, and even when he was a young cockerel, he would snuggle up next to her on the ground and sit with her. Occasionally he would go check on the other hen, get some food and water, then sit next to her again. It really is very sweet.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

I am not sure when they would go in given their own choice. Our coop is in the back part of our yard and we don't have any light back there, so we go and shut it up between 7:30-8 while WE can still see, lol. The main issue I have is that most days they all seem to have gone into the coop already but once they spot me headed their way they run back into the run, so it's a game getting them shoo'd back in to shut the door (I have to go in the run to close their coop door).

Right now my girls are 2 1/2 months and they don't seem to be sleeping on the roost bar yet. They all pile into a back corner on the floor of the coop, and they fight over who gets to be in the furthest, most tight little corner (almost half hidden behind one of the 2x4's!). Once they get in their pile it's hard to tell there are even 6 of them there.
What's up with that? Are they scared?

When mine are young, I will usually commit to going back out after dark and physically placing each one on the roost. (If after dark, it's too dark for them to get back down again). After several days of this, they usually learn to do it.

If you DON'T, they may struggle to learn it - I learned this the hard way with an early group of chicks - they didn't use a roost in the growout area, and when moved into their new coop, the whole lot of them slept on the ground in the coop for over a year. They eventually decided to roost, but not in the hen house - out in the secure run. And now it's too late to train them.

Just my experience...

 

[Dawnclucks22]

I shut mine in around 8:00 depending on when the sun sets. Mine go in right as it's starting to get dark.

 

[ChickenFajita6]

When mine are young, I will usually commit to going back out after dark and physically placing each one on the roost. (If after dark, it's too dark for them to get back down again). After several days of this, they usually learn to do it.

If you DON'T, they may struggle to learn it - I learned this the hard way with an early group of chicks - they didn't use a roost in the growout area, and when moved into their new coop, the whole lot of them slept on the ground in the coop for over a year. They eventually decided to roost, but not in the hen house - out in the secure run. And now it's too late to train them.

Just my experience...

Is there a disadvantage to them choosing to sleep on the floor?
I kinda have a theory about why ours aren't sleeping on the roost yet. And now keep in mind, they do get up there sometimes, they just don't choose it at night. We often find them (sometimes all 6) on the roost in the mornings when we go to open the coop door, but that's when it's been daylight for a hour or so. I am thinking that they might feel a little insecure on the roost bar right now, because it runs right in front of the windows of their coop. Maybe they feel too exposed? Maybe they don't care for the night air (even though it's warm here)? The back corner of the coop probably feels safer and more secure.
We may try putting a roost bar in another spot to see if it takes. It fits best where it is now, plus I thought being near the airflow would be nicer since it will get SO freaking hot here soon.

 

[Fire Ant Farm]

Is there a disadvantage to them choosing to sleep on the floor?
I kinda have a theory about why ours aren't sleeping on the roost yet. And now keep in mind, they do get up there sometimes, they just don't choose it at night. We often find them (sometimes all 6) on the roost in the mornings when we go to open the coop door, but that's when it's been daylight for a hour or so. I am thinking that they might feel a little insecure on the roost bar right now, because it runs right in front of the windows of their coop. Maybe they feel too exposed? Maybe they don't care for the night air (even though it's warm here)? The back corner of the coop probably feels safer and more secure.
We may try putting a roost bar in another spot to see if it takes. It fits best where it is now, plus I thought being near the airflow would be nicer since it will get SO freaking hot here soon.

Well, it keeps them from laying in each other's poop at night, or in wet/dirty bedding (depends on your set up - we get sideways rain sometimes). They can also scratch each other a lot while piling up together (my naked necks would get wounds), jockeying for position. And then I think of it as a little less safe secure, with regard to predators, rats, etc. Yes, if a predator gets in, they can get to the roost. But they can get them on the ground a lot easier...

It's new to them - they will adjust, as they usually find it natural. I just recently did this with four different batches of chicks. (How big are your roosts? Mine are 2x4s, flat side up, so they just stand on them). Yeah, maybe put a roosting bar in the back and see if they like that better than the one more in the open.

 

[ChickenFajita6]

It's new to them - they will adjust, as they usually find it natural. I just recently did this with four different batches of chicks. (How big are your roosts? Mine are 2x4s, flat side up, so they just stand on them). Yeah, maybe put a roosting bar in the back and see if they like that better than the one more in the open.

We also used a 2x4. Right now it's not very high since they're young and figuring it all out still.

and the chicken sleep pile

 

[ChickenFajita6]

Ugh I have no idea why it posted that one photo a dozen times.

 

[Boone Farm]

My chickens have been going into their coop like 30 minutes before the sun sets. I feel like they shouldn't go in so early but we've been really rainy and cloudy lately so maybe that is why. I've had mine just for a couple weeks. I have yet to have to put them in myself. They love going to their coop all on their own.

 

[Chickenrunlady]

Ok my chickens are 1o weeks old, have been in the coop for about 5 weeks now. They were kept inside the coop for about 2 weeks as it was too cold for them to behave them go in n out. They have a ramp and can go down it. I usually gather them up and put them in the coop just before sundown. I have yet to have them go in on their own. I waited tonight and it was getting darker and they were all kinda running back and forth not sure if they were trying to figure out what to do. i had to get going so I gathered them up and put them in. Will they figure out to get back in the coop on their own?

 

[Chickenrunlady]

Mine start heading into the coop about 15 minutes before legal sunset regardless of the weather. By legal sunset, they're all inside and the last few stragglers need help getting on the roosts. (Maybe they don't need help, but it is a routine with us now. I feel like the usher at a movie theater using a flashlight to illuminate each roost so the last few stragglers can jump up.)

Why?
Chickens don't see like we see. Chickens have tetra-chromatic vision, while we have tri-chromatic. That means they see an additional sector of the light spectrum that human eyes can't see. (In English, chickens have four wavelengths they are sensitive to, while we have three. Humans and chickens see red, green and blue, but chickens are also sensitive to ultraviolet light.) Even if there is artificially low light, such as with heavy storm cloud cover, which to our eyes it seems dark out, chickens can see just fine.

They have a disadvantage when the sun goes down, however, and they lose the benefit of that extra light spectrum. The retina in humans and other mammals is made up of rods and cones -- rods to see at night and cones to see color. Chickens have very few cones, and their rods are not very sensitive. Once the sun drops below the horizon, our eyes still have enough light to see and even enough light to still see color for a while during twilight, but chickens are pretty much blind. Before they lose the light and the ability to see, they want to be in a safe place, which is why most times chickens head in around legal sunset, which is a minute or two different each day.

Thank you for this great explanation.