[anna s]

Please can someone tell me how to persuade my chickens to roost instead of sleeping on the floor of the coup? I have three pur breed hens about 16 weeks old. A Buff Orpington, a Light Sussex and a Rhode Island Red. They refuse to stay on the perches. I have to clean a corner of the coup every morning because they all sleep on top of one another in a corner and make a really big pile of droppings. I have removed the nesting box where it all began but they still sleep in the same place.

Also is it O.K. for the coup to be a bit damp inside? I bought a really expensive very good quality coup but the recent rain has been so bad that I wondered if I should cover it with roofing felt for the winter.

As you can tell I am very new to keeping chickens so any help would be gratefully received.

[Yorkie]

Welcome to the site 

I'll move your questions over to the Hen House board as that's where chickeny questions go 

[viettaclark]

Hi! Your house shouldn't leak at all if it's good quality. Even our spare coop, a cheap Chinese pile of tinder wood, is dry and warm.
Roofing felt can be a haven for red mite and is best avoided although all the wooden coops have got it!!!

[Sassy]

Hi! Your house shouldn't leak at all if it's good quality. Even our spare coop, a cheap Chinese pile of tinder wood, is dry and warm.
Roofing felt can be a haven for red mite and is best avoided although all the wooden coops have got it!!!

I have a wooden coop about 7 years old and it doesn't have roofing felt just a well made wooden roof. Touching loads of wood I have not yet had red mite.

[kegs]

Could you replace the roof with coroline roofing or fit a tarpauline for the winter?  As for using the perches, you might have to keep lifting the girls onto them for a few weeks when they are sleepy until they get the message. 

[Lewjam]

I had this problem, just keep lifting them uponto the pearches when its dark every night and they soon get the idea.

[anna s]

I had this problem, just keep lifting them uponto the pearches when its dark every night and they soon get the idea.

Thank you to everyone for their helpful replies. I will go back to the expensive supplier about the leaks and keep lifting the birds at night. Please can someone tell me how to use this site as I am finding it difficult to use the hen house board. Thanks.

[joyfull]

Chicken chat is for general chit chat, photos of your birds etc, the Hen House is for problems which is why Yorkie moved your post into the hen house.
Yes do get back in touch with your supplier as a leaking coop is no good for the birds or you as it will make cleaning more difficult and also lead to mould problems  .
Welcome to the site by the way, and please do post a couple of photos of your birds on the chicken chat pages - we love looking at chicken photos