When will it chickens start using their roosting bars?

[Cmp211]

When will my chickens start using the roosting bar? Right now they’re just laying on the poop shelf.

 

[Yardfulla poopers]

All of mine at that size are using the roost, but they brood in the coop with my adults.
Are the littles the only ones in the coop, or are there bigs for them to learn from? If it's just them, it may take a little longer, but my guess is it won't be long.

 

[Cmp211]

All of mine at that size are using the roost, but they brood in the coop with my adults.
Are the littles the only ones in the coop, or are there bigs for them to learn from? If it's just them, it may take a little longer, but my guess is it won't be long.

nope, they’re the only ones in there. They’re my first round of chicks
When they were in the brooder they would roost on a 2x4 I had in there, or on the edge. Now that they’re in the coop they’re either on the floor or on the poop shelf. They’ve been in the coop for a week.

 

[Yardfulla poopers]

One of the great things about chickens is, though some think they are stupid, they usually figure things out. Instincts kick in eventually.

 

[Cmp211]

One of the great things about chickens is, though some think they are stupid, they usually figure things out. Instincts kick in eventually.

They’re very smart and have BIG personalities

 

[GuineaMania]

You might want to put them on the roost every night and see if they eventually get it.

Btw, they are so cute!

 

[BlueDawnRising]

When will my chickens start using the roosting bar? Right now they’re just laying on the poop shelf. View attachment 4108217

This is my first go with chickens too so take my experience with this for what it’s worth.

We moved our chicks to the coop at about the same size as yours. They didn’t use the roost and I didn’t understand why because they had used one in the brooder and would jump up there during the day in the coop. I had lights on until I went out to close them in for the night. I would throw a hand full of treats on the floor and turn off the lights. Then, I read something about their eyesight not being so good after dark. I was basically giving them treats and leaving them in the pitch dark wherever they were without knowing they couldn’t see well enough to get on the roost. I started giving treats in the mornings, turning off the lights before the sun went down and physically setting them on the roost when it was dark if they weren’t up there already. It took 3 days for them to do it on their own. Mine was a total human error. Not saying yours is but thought I would share in case it might trigger a thought of something you might need to change for them or help them know.

 

[ChickenShepherd_6116]

When will my chickens start using the roosting bar? Right now they’re just laying on the poop shelf. View attachment 4108217

Mine do this too!

 

[Debbie292d]

That's what I asked myself nearly nine years ago when we built the coop and were donated some silkies. Then I read up on it and we pulled them all out. They like sleeping on top the nest boxes, so I put stall refresher up there which makes cleaning it off easier. No need for poop boards!

 

[Cmp211]

Current situation let meexplain . So we had two shelves in the shed that got turned into a coop. The plan is to make both of them roosts with poopshelfs. The one mostly in this picture hasn’t been fully converted yet. My husband set this plank between the two just for S&G because it was extra. Now they’re roosting on that