Chickens love to roost at night for safety. It is inbred in them and providing good sturdy perches that they can access for sleep is very important. With care and planning you should be able to provide them with enough roosting spots with a few to spare. Surprisingly they do not always use the same spot on the perch.
Like humans, chickens have a bodyclock and they can establish when they are ready to settle in for the night. If it’s still light out, chances are they will want to spend this time scavenging around for seed and insects rather than roosting. If your coop is not kit out with enough perches, this will also deter your chickens from wanting to roost.
Because of their status as a prey species, chickens have also evolved to perch up high in trees during the night. This is a safer place to sleep to evade potential predators. Chickens also need a certain type of roosting perch in order to get good sleep.
Why do chickens roost up high?
It is natural instinct for your chickens to want to roost up high ( because they are descendants of wild birds which sleep in trees ), so providing them with a suitably positioned roost will allow them to feel safe and protected while they sleep-a critical part of their daily activities!
Do chickens need roosting perches to sleep?
They need roosting perches to feel safe at night. While there may not be predators in the coop, the behavior is ingrained in chickens and they will naturally seek out a high spot where they can sleep. When chickens sleep they line up together on these roosts.
One more question we ran across in our research was “Do chickens sleep at night?”.
A chicken’s brain is capable of shutting down one side at a time so they really can be asleep but awake. So when we build a coop for our feathered friends we must put in enough roosting bars for them to rest on and sleep on at night.
What do chickens need to sleep?
Quite contrary to popular belief, chickens don’t actually cozy up together in their nesting box for some shut eye, instead they prefer to get their forty winks perched high on a roost.
Do chicken coops have roosts?
Most respectable chicken coops will come with a roost built into their design, and it should be made with a sturdy and solid timber that is rounded off.