Hey all!
This is my first time posting here, but wanted to get some insight from some more seasoned chicken owners:
We got 5 chicks earlier this year and they’re now grown enough to be outdoor/free ranging in our fenced in back yard with plenty of space to forage and move around. For some reason, they’ve been sleeping on top of the coop instead of inside it. The coop is routinely cleaned so it’s not dirty, but they seem to prefer roosting on top of it.
The coop is plenty big enough for the 5 of them and has 6 nesting boxes (They’re around 12 weeks old, so not nesting yet) but it’s got plenty of room for all 5 of them to sleep comfortably.
Is this normal and will they eventually choose to sleep in the coop once they get to laying/nesting? If not, what do I need to do differently? It’s getting warmer around here (central NC area) so I assume it’s just too warm in there at night? But even still, it’s been getting down to the low 50’s/mid-40’s some night so I figured they’d be a little cold.
by PyrosaurD93
9 Comments
Is there a roost inside the coop?
Do they have something to roost on? I used 2×2 to put roosting perches. They don’t like to sit on the ground
Chcikens sleep perched off the ground once they are grown, so if there is nothing for them to climb onto inside of the coop, they will find the highest point available, in your case it looks like the top of the coop.
Unless it’s below freezing and as long as the coop is secure, I’d let them stay. All but two of mine roost outside the coop
This is normal. They will seek the highest point they feel safe to roost on. In your case, it’s on top of their coop.
Your lucky, we have trees in our chicken run. When we introduce new chickens, we will have to go outside every night and check the trees to pick out the chickens (some times with ladders) and get them into the coop for the night. 😅
You will have to do the same until they get used to the coop.
Just pick them up at night, put them in the coop, shut their door.
Eventually and in short time, they will get the hang of things 😉👍
Meep meep
It’s a feathered coupe.
Oh yeah this is normal – and annoying
My chickens have a little coop that is located inside of a big dog kennel. In the winter they go inside the coop, sometimes we have to remind them to sleep there. When the weather is nicer they prefer to sleep on top of the coop. We also have a big set of roosting bars that they enjoy when it’s warm or rainy because it’s in a section with a tarp cover.
Fortunately we don’t have to worry about predators where we are. The biggest concern is temperatures.