How do you get the chucks to perch?

fresh eggs!! · « **on:** September 09, 2008, 11:42 »

Just got 6 hybrid POl's about a week and a half ago. Have also got a cockerel too. The cockerel and three of the hens will perch, but there are three that sleep in the corner of the hen house.
How do I encourage these hens to perch?? They want to sleep in the next boxes, so have covered these up for the moment as none of the hens are laying yet.

Can anyone help?

Cheers :)

Vember · « **Reply #1 on:** September 09, 2008, 13:55 »

Hello Fresh Eggs

Welcome to the forums

The best thing you can do is pick them up and actually put them on the perch.
You may have to do this a few times, but they should eventually get the idea.

Having said that I do have a couple who refuse point blank to roost an sleep in their nest box. I just make sure I clean any poops up in the morning so when they go to lay it's nice an clean

Sarah

fresh eggs!! · « **Reply #2 on:** September 09, 2008, 20:06 »

Cheers for this.
We tried tonight to put the hens on the perch, now all but one are perching tonight!! Will keep trying.

Thanks
Nichola

SnooziSuzi · « **Reply #3 on:** September 09, 2008, 20:13 »

I agree with Vember; my Lsussex didn't perch when I first got them, they just huddled together in a corner, but soon after without any encouragement from me (mainly because I couldn't catch them! :roll: ) they copied from the existing girls and now all of them perch together and they have their favourite places too!

Fenland Girl · « **Reply #4 on:** September 09, 2008, 20:30 »

Making sure your perch is higher than your nesting boxes might help. Then again, one of my hens would never get on the perch voluntarily until one of her her 'friends' disappeared to the freezer, and then she suddenly started perching on her own - just a clash of hen personalities, obviously!

scooter · « **Reply #5 on:** September 10, 2008, 19:21 »

I tried putting mine on the perch but they just kept jumping off. I leave them to it now and they tend to sleep on the floor. If they don't want to perch I can't see any reason to try and force them.

fresh eggs!! · « **Reply #6 on:** September 12, 2008, 08:07 »

Thanks everybody for help.

Have left the final girl to it and it appears that she didn't want to be by herself, so has perched on her own without any help from us!!!

Cheers Nichola

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