Chicken people: hens won't go up to roost

MiJodsR2BlinkinTite

MiJodsR2BlinkinTite

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Any chicken experts out there? A fortnight ago I bought a trio of little Wyandotte hens (well, chicks really).

They'd been kept in coops at ground level and had therefore never had to go "up" to roost at night. My henhouse is one of the ones where they go up a set of steps and then into the house, and then can perch up if they want to.

My problem is that the blimmin things just won't go up at night!!! They just crouch on the ground in a little huddle, and so every night since they came I've had to go out just as its getting dark, catch them and put them in the house (they've got one to themselves so there are'nt any pecking issues or whatever); and every morning when I open the door of the hutch they "go downstairs", so its not as if they haven't been in there before.

I'm wondering if they're ever gonna learn to go "up" at night??? Anyone got any ideas?
 
I've found young chickens to be fairly dim and rather clumsy, I'm sure they'll get the hang of it eventually! Some breeds are also more keen to go 'up' than other breeds, but I've never kept wyandottes, so I wouldn't know about them. How old are they? I have some 9 week old growers at the moment and the legbars have started to try and roost at the night but the cochins wouldn't dream of it. Lastly, pop a little really tasty food in there before dusk (sweetcorn or something), that should help!
 
We had the same problem with 20 ex battery hens.

We tried to start with picking them all up and putting them in the coop but they werent learning.

In the end we had to literally round them up every evening - 2 of us with fishing poles to direct them. They had to actually walk up the ramp to bed, after a few evenings most would go home on their own and as soon as they saw the poles would strut home.
Took another few nights to get the stubborn ones to do it too but after about 10 days they all went home to bed.

Bit of a pain to start with but worth it in the long run.
 
IME they take a while to want to go up at night, I'd say ours have been a good 6 months old before they've gone up of their own accord. wyandottes are lovely hens, but they aren't the brightest! I'd just say persevere trying to get them to go up under thier own steam and they'll get the idea.
 
argghh just wrote a long reply about possibly being red mites in their house but probably more like they just need to learn how to do it themselves with some gentle herding (rather than picking them up) and the forum threw its toys out of the pram and wouldnt let me post. Anyway, google red mites just in case....
 
I'm experiencing the same problem with our Partridge Bantams at the moment. They are quite capable of going to bed as they play on the ramp to their bedroom during the day but we are still having to put them to bed as they huddle on the floor at night. Think they are just thick!!!
 
I got some ex bats last Oct which had no idea about going home to Roost had to literally pick em up and put em to bed...them started herding them in with the sweeping brush..nowadays they tend to go to bed but if very light the see the brush and tend to realise playtime is over..maybe yours just need a while longer for the penny to drop:rolleyes::)
 
In the wild they wouldn't be roostig yet and "mum" would show them and encourage them.They went to bed tonight and then heard mum and came out again.You'll just have to be patient :)
 
Ours always go up to bed when it is getting dark, if I try to get them in before then - not a chance, they run off all over the place :mad: ... they will go when they are ready and not before :rolleyes:
 
Bit of a joke at my yard but I've found that Tesco's madeira cake will bring any chicken running from 5 miles away. Our yard Buff Orpington rooster (Chicken George) used to eat it out of my hand. Bless him, in the end it only made him tastier for Mr Fox. RIP George - he died protecting his ladies {{sigh}}.
 
We had a Buff Orpington rooster too!!! he was a darling, we called him Geoffrey and he looked after his hens very well - he'd never go to bed until all his wives had come in with him.

One day Mr Fox came in looking for supper and carted off poor old Geoffrey by the neck. Enter our little Lakeland terrier (now sadly gone to the big Kennels in the Sky, bless him) - who basically legged it after Mr Fox plus fowl in mouth, and somehow or other must have been pretty cheeky, coz Mr Fox dropped his prize and we found him lying in the long grass, traumatised and all bloody and horrible, but still alive.

So we brought him back and tidied him up as much as possible, and then just put him back with his wives, thinking that if they coudln't bring him back from the brink then no-one else could. And within the day he was perking up and pecking around his ladies - he was a bit stiff in his neck for a little while, you could see that, BUT he lived to a good old age after that incident and then one morning we opened the coop and everyone else walked out except Geoffrey - we found him dead just by the perch. So what a way to go.

Bless him, he was a lovely bird and soooo gorgeous with it, and so proud of his lovely golden feathers. Bless him.
 
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