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It is a common misconception that chickens sleep standing up,but this is hardly the truth.
How do chickens sleep?
And how can you as an owner take this into account?
We cover everything you need to know and more, so let's get into it!
How do chickens sleep? Do chickens sleep standing up?
Chickens preferget off the ground and sleep in the chicken coop.
They don't sleep standing up.
Chickens fly, walk or jump to their resting places and then sit on their feet to sleep.
Cornish crossesis the exception to this rule.
They are too heavy to get onto a perch, let alone keep their balance on such a heavy body.
Instead, they will choose to sleep on a flat but elevated surface.
I always provided a few logs of firewood for mine to sit on and they seemed to appreciate that.
You see a chicken standing still with its eyes closed.
While this may seem like a leg-locked nap, the chick is simply resting its eyes and enjoying the sun.
They may be relaxing, but they're not really sleeping.
Why do chickens sit?
It is a natural instinct for chickens to roost at night.
Even if you get itnew chicks you raiseWithout interaction from older chickens, they will immediately seek a higher roost at the first opportunity they get.
If you raise your chicks in a trunk, drying tank, or large wooden incubator, you'll probably see them jump up and sit on their sides as soon as they grow feathers on their wings.
Protection from predators
Chickens are almost completely blind at night, which means they can't see potential danger very well.
They also sleep from dusk to dawn, with some chicks invariably sleeping more heavily than others.
This makes them susceptible to several nocturnal predators, most notably: foxes, coyotes, raccoons, skunks, stray dogs, owls, opossums, cats (feral, wild and domestic), weasels, wolves and bears.
Sleeping on the floor, tucked away in a safe environment, especially in a dark room where they are difficult to see, makes their sleep much safer and more comfortable.
Before the chicken coops, wild chickens (jungle birds) slept in bushes, trees and higher shrubs.
Their feathers blended in with the foliage and they did not move or make any sounds to warn nearby predators.
Keep clean
Chickens often lose manure during the night.
If they were to sleep on the floor, they would end up in a messy position where they could soil themselves, or they would have to get up and move to a clean area to relieve themselves.
Sleeping off the ground allows them to sleep peacefully, without moving, while staying neat and clean.
Chickens often sleep in the same place night after night.
When they slept on the floor, they inhaled dangerous and unhealthy toxins all night because they were in the manure from the night before.
Mites and other harmful insects are also much more likely to be on the ground, which is why this is so importantchicken coopinstead of lying on the cage floor.
When do chickens sleep?
Chickens will sleep latesunrise to sunset,regardless of the season.
Like humans, they naturally tend to sleep more in winter and much less in summer.
Living in northern Montana, my chickens sleep almost sixteen hours a day in the winter, thanks to our long, cold nights and dark, cloudy winter days.
On some of the coldest and darkest days around the winter solstice, some of my older chickens practically lived on their perches.
They only came down to eat and drink before going to sleep.
However, in the summer they only sleep about seven to seven and a half hours per night.
Almost all chickens sleep through the night, and as long as they are not disturbed by loud noises or intruders, they should not make any noises or come down from their roost until morning.
Older chicks may nap randomly during the day if they feel safe enough. As the chicks get older, they need more sleep.
Where do chickens like to sleep?
Chickens like to sleep in an elevated room where they are clear of the groundfeeling safe from predators.
While most are happy with the coop, a few may wander into new spaces.
Chicks at the bottom of the pecking order may not want to sleep with the rest of the flock, especially if the other chicks are aggressive.
Heavy chicks may not feel able or comfortable sleeping on a post or perch.
It may be difficult to fly to their resting place, or it may be too painful for them to jump down in the morning.
Heavy breeds such asWyandottesInOrpingtonsare prone to sore or broken feet when they jump from their perch.
Naturally,Cornish Rotskruisen(fast growing meat birds) do not have access to the perches at all.
Just because a chicken can't sit in a good spot doesn't mean they don't want to be put to sleep.
Consider building a ramp for the chickens to climb up and down, or provide some upside-down pieces of firewood or cinder blocks for the chickens to roost on.
In the past I have used metal grills intended for barbecue grills as a resting place for extra heavy chickens.
I placed them on two cinder blocks, just six to eight inches above the ground.
I had an older pet hen (safely from the cooking pot) that slept here.
My sweet, friendly giant Cornish crosses also slept on these slats, which I found comically ironic.
Mother hens that are broody or have chicks will also sleep on the floor or on your lowest perches.
I placed perches eight inches above the ground.
Still, they usually ended up on a large piece of upturned firewood, hidden beneath their adorable mother.
How long do chickens sleep?
Chickens want to sleep tooas long as it's dark.
They usually sleep completely uninterrupted from sunset to sunrise, no matter how short or long the natural night is.
How to set up a perch for your chickens
Choose a good part of Coop
First, choose an area of your chicken coop where feces won't land.
Do not place rest bars over food or water sources.
Also, do not place nest boxes in places where you walk (certainly do not attach human-sized perches above your entrance door).
Make sure there is enough space
Next, make sure you have enough space for the intended number of chickens (more on this in a moment).
Some areas of your chicken coop may offer more space than others.
Spread perches (if necessary)
If you plan to have multiple rows of rest bars, do not place them in a perfectly vertical line.
The lowest beams should be the longest (if they are at an angle) and stick out the most.
Each successive rod should then deepen inward, closer to the wall and higher and closer to the ceiling.
Doing this will make it much more difficult for your chickens that are higher up to soil the chickens below them.
Typically, the highest-ranked chicks sleep at the top, while the chicks low on the totem pole sleep at the bottom.
Use suitable materials
Wooden dowel rods, natural branches, tobacco sticks, and two-by-four boards are good ideas because they are easy for the bird to grasp.
They are not nearly as cruel to sore feet in the heat of summer or the cold of winter (as metal).
Rubber rods can work well. Sturdy plastic can do the same.
Do not use metal or smooth plastic as these are difficult for chickens to grip and may cause deformationhop foot.
Grind the wooden sticks finely, as the painful splinters can also cause bunions.
I even added a few short two-by-four boards to the inside of the chicken coop so that my older chickens, who are usually my children's pets, would have a high and comfortable place to sleep.
They need to be cleaned more often, but it is worth it to me so that they have a good quality of life.
Prepare for waste
If you want to make cleanup easier, consider placing something under the perches to make it quicker and easier to clean up after your flock.
Some people lay out tarps and wash them regularly.
Others throw away straw or wood shavings and change mediums often.
And other brilliant people keep a sandbox under their perch so they can effortlessly pick through the sand like a giant cat litter box.
I've never used sand before, but it's on my to-do list.
Use perches that are thick enough
The chicken coops should have a diameter of at least two to three inches.
Not only do thicker perches support more birds with less risk of breakage, but it is also a relief for the chicks not to have to grip so hard on the perch to stay upright.
Thicker pads are also warmer because they can settle on the feet and warm them while they sleep.
How much space do chickens need to perch?
Each chicken should have about four inches of space on the perch.
Wyandottes may need a foot or two of space occasionallyfor dwarf cornerswhich requires only six inches.
Giving even more space is a good idea if you have unusually aggressive or shy chickens in your flock.
This ensures that your lowest-ranked birds still have a safe, pest-free zone to get some much-needed sleep.
Too many chopped chickens will eventually stop staying in the coop if they feel unsafe, making them a target for predators (or freezing to death in the winter).
One of my favorite herd observations is the difference in open roosting space between summer and winter.
In summer, every inch of the wooden pole seems absolutely necessary.
The chickens go outside leaving gaps between them.
In winter they are all squeezed together to warm up and it seems the farm is only running at half capacity.
Why does my chicken sleep on the floor?
If you see your chicken sleeping on the floor, this could be a problem or a sign of a problem.
Here's how to tell the difference between the two.
Heat
Chickens that are uncomfortable can sleep on the ground, especially when pressed on the cool ground, to cool down faster.
Don't panic if you see a chicken stretched out and sleeping on the ground when it's warm. They're just trying to cool down for comfort.
You will normally see this during the day rather than at night.
It is also cooler for chickens to sit on a perch with their wings slightly spread, so that they cool down a little faster.
Criminals
If a chick is being bullied by its flock mates, it may sleep on the ground to avoid confrontation.
Other birds may even deliberately take him or her down.
If this is the case, add more perches so that the lowest ranked birds are guaranteed a place to sleep.
Inaccessibility
Inaccessible perches can be difficult to reach, too high to fly to or jump from safely.
They could also not have enough space or be too dirty for the chicken to feel uncomfortable there.
Heavy birds may not be able to jump or fly to the perch or be too heavy to balance on the post.
Youth
Although it is normal for all chickens to roost at higher altitudes, not all of them know how to do this or how to reach the roost.
Carefully put them in their place in the living room if you think they don't know any better.
If they can't fly to it, make a slope or lower the perches lower.
Illness or injury
If a chicken isn't feeling well, he may sleep on the couch instead of walking upstairs to his bed.
Here isfive common chicken diseasesand how to treat them.
Final thoughts on chickens that sleep standing up
Now that we know that chickens do not sleep standing up, we can better understand their cages and adapt them to their needs.
We also know why chickens rest when they sleep, why they sit where they want to sleep, how to set up a suitable chicken coop and how you can tell if a chicken is doing well.
I hope you found this useful!
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