Roosting in the nesting box

Petite Poulet · **Joined:** Thu Jun 09, 2011 7:17 pm **Posts:** 5219

Thank you, kindly, Purefeather,

That makes perfect sense! Another neighbour's dog who has a taste for chicken(feathers and all) tunneled his way under the boundary fence whilst my chooks were free ranging, luckily their wings aren't clipped and they found refuge up a tree!

Have you ever seen "Chicken Run", this is a non corruptible Mrs. Tweedy...Some people just hate chookies and can not be bribed

purefeather · **Joined:** Wed Sep 29, 2010 6:36 pm **Posts:** 736

Councillors can be bribed.

Petite Poulet · **Joined:** Thu Jun 09, 2011 7:17 pm **Posts:** 5219

Thank you, kindly Purefeather,

Your chook advice and chook wisdom are appreciated!

You wouldn't believe it but "Mrs. Tweedy's" son is a member of the local council

!

If ABSOLUTELY EVERBODY owned chooks in the world, it would definately be a better place in which to live!

As each day passes, I think that the humble chook is much more nicer and much more intelligent than the very average human...

This opnion DEFINATELY DOES NOT INCLUDE ALL THOSE ON A.P.F.

CHOOKMUSTER · **Joined:** Wed Aug 10, 2011 8:21 am **Posts:** 3

I am with purefeather on this you need to train them to sleep off the ground and that includes not letting them sleep in the boxes to me that is a bad habit and he is right if need be put them up on the roost for a few nights they will learn

Petite Poulet · **Joined:** Thu Jun 09, 2011 7:17 pm **Posts:** 5219

Thank you, kindly, Chookmuster,

Since the nesting box is a converted drawer, it is easy for me to relocate it at night so that they can roost on their perches again.

ClassicOEG · **Joined:** Thu Aug 11, 2011 7:51 am **Posts:** 1

My little game fowl just refuse to use a roost and after 3 months of trying to convince them I gave up they just love sleeping in the boxes and all my efforts when in vein

johs · **Posted:** Sun Aug 14, 2011 12:00 am

This is a problem I have as well. One or two of the girls try to sleep in the nest boxes and half the rest sleep on the floor of the coop. I think the main problem is the oldest girls I have are quite nasty to the others and really have a go when they come into beak distance, so they avoid them. Strangely they don't use the higher roosts preferring to be lower so they can peck the floor dwellers at every opportunity. They really spread out accross the roosts too.

I have been going out at night to shift the nest sleepers and it has worked on all but one hen. She is halfway through a late moult so I think she is just feeling the cold. Hopefully once she has all her nice new feathers she will stop too.

Now I have to work on getting them all to lay in the nests. :-?

All my sussex do, but only one each of the Rocks and Barnies.

I borrowed a rooster off a friend as I had read that a rooster can sort out the infighting. That might help with roosting too. Fingers crossed. Unfortunately so far he is favouring the Barnies and ignoring the rest. One of the sussex girls beat him up when i introduced them which probably didn't help.

Oh chickens! How would we amuse ourselves without them.

Ps Here is a picture of the "lucky" boy with his new harem.

Attachment:

Loaner+Girls.jpg [ 39.18 KiB | Viewed 1487 times ]

Petite Poulet · **Joined:** Thu Jun 09, 2011 7:17 pm **Posts:** 5219

Thanks, Johs,

The problem started with Mr. Rooster one cold night deciding that the straw filled nesting box was much nicer and warmer to roost than the perches which are the same level of the nesting boxes. The girls were roosting on the perches that night. The next night they all decided to join him and snuggle up.

The original pullet that grew up with Mr. Rooster thinks that she is a rooster and has a few stand offs with him, otherwise he rules the roost and protects his girls, keeps the girls in line and feeds them before himself. He really is a BIG softie!

Tona · **Joined:** Sun Aug 14, 2011 3:13 pm **Posts:** 1

So do you go in the coop each late afternoon and put them up on the perch? how long does it take normally for them to get the knack of it?

Petite Poulet · **Joined:** Thu Jun 09, 2011 7:17 pm **Posts:** 5219

Tona wrote:

So do you go in the coop each late afternoon and put them up on the perch? how long does it take normally for them to get the knack of it?

Hi, Tona,

I think that is what most people do, train them to roost on the perches. These are my first chooks and they had always roosted on the perches until I moved the nesting box down from the mezzanine level to the corner where I found my first egg. I thought that the nesting box was too high up. Since it is a recycled drawer, I can take it move it easily so they won't roost in it and put it back in the morning as it gets rather soiled if they sleep in it.

AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

Roosting in the nesting box

Who is on the Forum