Your chickens are safer and more comfortable if they sleep on their perch rather than on the floor, in the nest box, or outside. And it’s more convenient for you when you need to handle them. But how do you get your chickens to go onto their perch at night?
First, you need to give them a suitable perch.
Second, start young if you can.
But, if you have lazy chooks, then you need be firm but encouraging until they get the idea. In the evening when you find them settling down to sleep somewhere inappropriate, pick them up and sit them on the perch. Make sure they are stable and comfortable before you leave them - you don’t want them falling off and learning that perching is painful. Once you get them up there and it’s dark, they will probably stay there all night. I find that a youngster may be more stable throughout the night if they are on the end of the perch where they can lean against the wall for extra stability. And think about who you are putting them next to - you want them to be comfortable, not spend a miserable night getting pecked by a more dominant chook right next to them. I think there is less of this if I put the new bird on the perch facing in the opposite direction to their older neighbour - a few pecks on the back aren’t as upsetting as pecks on the head.
Four, be patient and keep doing it. You might have to keep putting them up on the perch every night for a week or two, but eventually they grow up and start to assert themselves, and one evening you’ll find they have hopped up all on their own
Five - don’t let them sleep in the nest box. This can come about even with hens who have been accustomed to perching properly, if they lay late in the day and are still in the nest box when darkness falls, or if they’re feeling broody and spending a lot of time in the nest box. If you don’t want a broody hen, then you need to stop that as quickly as possible. Check out my video on how to break broodiness. If you do want a broody hen, find a safe and separate place for her and her chicks.
But don’t let your chickens sleep in the nest box. When chickens sleep they poop. If they are sleeping on a perch, all the poop falls neatly on the floor below. But in the nest box, they end up sleeping in their own poop, which is damp and irritating to their skin. And you don’t want poop in the nest box because that would contaminate the eggs. Healthy eggs are clean eggs. You don’t want the eggs that you eat to be contaminated with bacteria from chicken poop.
Six - if they are sleeping in the nest boxes, try blocking off the nest boxes each evening so they can’t get in. Of course you need to unblock them again in time for the first morning layers. I find it easier to do this the night before once darkness has fallen - I find it more convenient to take an extra late night trip to the coop than it is to get up and get there before the crack of dawn.
Seven - if a hen who used to sleep on the perch suddenly decides to sleep elsewhere, if it’s not because she’s feeling broody, then check out else what might have changed her mind. Check the perch and hen house for mites or other things that make the hens uncomfortable. Has the weather got too hot and there is not enough ventilation in the hen house? Has the manure built up to where it smells of ammonia? Before you blame the hen, make sure that the fault doesn’t lie with the perch or the hen house.
So, first make sure that the perch is a nice place to spend the night, and then encourage your chickens to sleep there, as strongly and persistently as necessary until they get the idea. Your chickens will be happier and healthier that way, and you will find it more convenient too.
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