[jackie]

Hi, I bought seven hens in September and they have all settled in fine. What i'm finding is that as theyre getting bigger, three or four go in the nest box of a night, but the rest sleep on the house floor, not on the perches. Is this normal?

[joyfull]

Hi, ideally could you not go into their coup when they have gone to bed and place them on the perches? It may take a few weeks of doing this every night but they should eventually get the message. As hens poop a lot during the night any eggs that they lay would become soiled if they continue to sleep in the nest boxes. 

[DavidT]

Good evening Jackie and welcome to the site.

[grumpydad]

how high are the perches ? and what size are they ?

perches should be about 18" from the floor at the most i was advised, and should be about 2 and a half inches wide, square wood with the edges rounded off

[hillfooter]

This behaviour is absolutely normal particularly in this weather they prefer to all huddle together in the nestboxes. 
When I lock mine up I regularly find 3 crammed into one box as warm as toast.  I don't allow them to sleep there through the night and the boxes have shutters to prevent them but I don't mind them using the floor rather than the perches.  If your house isn't too large they should keep warm by huddling together on their roosts if they are suitable.  I prefer roosting bars which are arranged in parallel grids so that they can huddle on the perches in a knot, rather than having a single bar which only allows them to perch side by side which isn't as warm for them.  If your perches are like this and your house a tall shed for example they will probably prefer to use the floor or nestboxes for warmth.
Regards
HF

[Pig Cat]

I've just seen this post, hope it's OK to resurrect it. I have six hens who never took to their perches and prefer to spend the night huddled in their nestboxes. They tend to lay in one particular one and this is generally avoided as a sleeping place. Could somebody either reassure me that this is behaviour that can go on unchanged, or advise me why I should be encouraging them to roost on perches.

Just to add that though I put straw down for them it gradually disappears from the nesting area but stays in the laying box. Is straw an important part of nesting and should it be kept 'topped up'? Sorry to ask two questions in one post but they are quite related. Take pity on me - I'm new around here!!

[NooNoosdad]

  I'm new to Keeping Chickens having purchased my three Black Rock Hens all now aged about 23 weeks.
At Night Time, mine don't perch either. Two cuddle up together 'top to tail' style in one Nesting Box and one has a Nesting Box all to herself - Cute !

[Jeanette]

Idealy they should perch and you can go up when it is dark and put them on the perch and this will take a couple of weeks of doing this before they get the idea. Saying that all mine sleep on the floor of the coup and they are very cosy. It can be a problem because the eggs can get dirty but i collect the eggs as soon as possible and don't have much of a problem, and you can just wipe the eggs clean.

[hillfooter]

Chickens like to roost together in a huddle.  I see too many houses with unsuitable perches which don't allow them to do this so they end up crammed into a nestbox or a corner of the floor.  You'll have more success getting them to roost if the perches consist of 4 - 6 parallel bars rectangular in section with the corners rounded of approx dimensions 50 - 70mm wide X 30 - 40MM deep, rather than a single pole.

The perches should be positioned over a droppings area so their droppings fall through and they have no access to them.  If your house is well designed internally like this the need to poo pick the house is very much reduced.  I don't do this at all.  In fact the majority of the house base area should be perches and the floor space should be minimal just sufficient to allow the birds to enter and exit and mount the perches and access the nesting boxes.  The house is primarily for roosting in and laying, not living and eating quarters.  Most house designs are regretably not optimal in this regard.
HF


HF

[Pig Cat]

Thanks for the answers! It looks like my hens are OK in that they are in a nice cosy huddle to sleep, but I will need to keep clearing the poo out regularly from where they sleep. I have two perches that I can reinstall in the coop, but am 90% certain that two of my six hens will not take kindly to being manhandled on to them. They are rescue hens and not too keen on being handled. They appear to clear the straw away from their sleeping area and let it build up in the laying part of the coop. I keep adding more thinking they'll be comfier but they reject it. Perhaps this could be a problem in winter, but then again they may keep it when it gets colder.

[nicky d]

My girls were cramming them selves in the nest boxes aswell, so i got my hubby to block them off for me and i lowered the perch and now all three of them are roosting at night,  to be honest i think the perch was too high, as soon as i lowered it they all jumped on,  i read somewhere that the heavier breeds should have there perches lower!   nickyx

[joyfull]

yes heavier birds can injur themselves when getting down from a high perch and also may struggle to jump up - often a ramp is useful to help them up 

[henamoured]

Hillfooter - can I ask, how much space do you allow between the rows of perches in a grid?
I have often thought there might be room in the 'chicken accessory' market for a free-standing grid that could be placed in an existing coop but I'm not sure how it could be made stable enough not to upturn if a heavy hen jumped onto it. Assuming that problem could be overcome, it would be also so useful if a plastic one could be made that you could add on to if necessary perhaps by clipping on extra rows.
I'd be interested to hear of any thoughts...

[evie2]

That's a good idea, henamoured I'd be interested, plastic would be so easy to clean.  Grace

[hillfooter]

Hillfooter - can I ask, how much space do you allow between the rows of perches in a grid?
I have often thought there might be room in the 'chicken accessory' market for a free-standing grid that could be placed in an existing coop but I'm not sure how it could be made stable enough not to upturn if a heavy hen jumped onto it. Assuming that problem could be overcome, it would be also so useful if a plastic one could be made that you could add on to if necessary perhaps by clipping on extra rows.
I'd be interested to hear of any thoughts...

About 2 to3 inches is fine.  Here's a photo of the interior of my houses (I've four).  The perches are removable and rest on supports in the opposite walls of the house.  Note the very narrow floor walk way which lifts out (from the side or through the pophole) and can be positioned alongside the open house to sweep the spent litter into.  This house happy takes upto 9 L/F birds including a cock.  The second one shows the sides removed. giving plenty of access.

HF