One thing experienced keepers of backyard chickens know is that you will always come up against something new, even with your old chickens. Suddenly, you find your previously coop-bound chickens roosting in a tree at night.
Tree roosting is a common habit for some chickens, but many of us don’t know if it’s a good thing.
We’ll discuss the pros and cons of tree-roosting (sometimes called free-roosting) so you can decide whether to stop or embrace it. There are divided opinions on it, but each owner should decide based on various factors that we’ll discuss.
Let’s talk about chickens roosting in trees.
What is Tree-Roosting?
There is a difference between roosting and perching. When we say roosting, we are referring to staying in a tree at night instead of in the coop.
Perching is when the chicken sits in a tree on a branch, pole, or post to rest during the day, get off the ground, or just watch the world go by. At night, most chickens head inside to roost for the night.
But some head for a tree, get high up, and stay there until morning.
Chicken’s instincts drive them to seek shelter and protection above the ground as the sun goes down. So, do you make them go into the coop? Or are chickens roosting in trees a good thing?
To help us decide, let’s talk about why chickens roosting in trees might happen.
6 Reasons Why Chickens Want to Roost in Trees
You’ll find your chickens roosting in trees instead of going in the coop with the rest of the flock for various reasons. Over the years, I have had this occur with our chickens, and here are some reasons chickens do this.
1. The Pecking Order
Chickens can be brutal to each other and will peck and fight. The lower down the pecking order, the more the chicken is bullied, as there are more chickens above them.
On many occasions, the lower-down chickens wait for the others to head into the coop and then go to the tree for the night. There, they are away from the close confines of the coop where the dominant chickens might pester or harm them.
A bonus for them is if you lock the other chickens in the coop at night, they can move freely in the morning until you let the others out.
2. It’s In Their Genes
All chickens come from wild birds that live in the trees as a way to avoid predators. Chickens roosting in trees is natural. As a result, all chickens have the instinct to find the highest area to perch. You may have noticed chickens prefer the higher roosts in your coop.
If the mother chicken prefers roosting in trees, then her offspring might do the same. They either learn it from the mother, or the desire develops in the offspring before 20 weeks of age. Some breeds seem to decide that tree roosting is ideal at any stage of life.
In other words, every chicken has the deeply rooted instinct to live in trees, but some chickens are tied more closely to that urge by how they were raised or how their parents acted.
3. Mites in the Coop
Some chickens will shy away from roosting in the coop if the coop is infested with mites. They form a habit, and even if you clean and disinfect the coop to rid it of mites, the habit remains.
Sometimes, they just prefer it after having a taste of tree life.
4. Over-Crowding
If the coop is too small for the number of chickens you have, some tend to roost in the trees outside.
Often, it’s the chickens lower in the pecking order because, with insufficient space, they may have to sit on the floor, which is not in their genetic makeup. Their instinct is to get up off the ground at night. In their minds, the floor is a dangerous place to be at night.
5. The Chickens Are New to The Flock
Sometimes, new chickens just don’t gel with the flock, and this drives them to roost in trees away from the others. This is common if you introduce a single chicken or a small group to the flock that tends to stick together.
6. Vermin or Predators
If the coop isn’t secure and rats, mice, or a predator gets in at night, some chickens will opt not to roost in there. This is particularly for the case with those who sleep lower down or on the floor if there is no space on the higher perches.
Pros of Chickens Roosting in Trees at Night
So now we know why a chicken might sleep in the trees at night. What are the benefits of chickens roosting in trees?
Some people encourage chickens roosting in trees. This is generally in areas where predators are nonexistent or the trees are in secure, fenced-off areas. In older times, allowing chickens to roost in trees was quite common.
1. Access to Lots of Insects
When roosting in trees, the chickens get access to all the insects out and about at dusk and dawn. Their eyesight at night isn’t the greatest, and once it’s dark, they are unlikely to see the bugs.
2. No Mites
Mites infesting a coop is a real pain for both the chickens and owners. Getting rid of them is a chore, but you must do it because they can make a chicken unwell. In the fresh air outside in the tree, this isn’t a problem. Mite populations don’t build up in trees.
3. Fertilizer for the Tree
Any chicken owner will tell you just how much a chicken poops, and a large portion of that happens at night. All of that free fertilizer falls to the ground within the drip line of the tree when chickens roosting in trees.
There are some reports from when tree-roosting was common that the fruit is much larger thanks to all of the chicken manure.
4. Better Egg Production
This may just be anecdotal, but some chicken owners who practice tree-roosting say that they get more eggs, especially in the winter. This might be because the chickens have access to more and more extended daylight.
5. It’s Natural
Years before domestication, the wild birds that chickens developed from nested and roosted in trees. This explains why some chickens still feel the pull to roost in trees despite the fact they have a warm and safe coop.
Beyond fulfilling their natural instincts, the variable size and shape of tree branches are better for their feet and recreate the natural environment where chickens evolved to survive.
6. Protection From Some Predators
This may sound a little strange, but if the only predators your chickens have are those that can’t climb trees, getting high up on branches may offer more protection than in some coops.
Dogs, coyotes, large cats, and some other predators can’t make it high up into trees. Owls are less likely to try and snag a bird out of a tree than one they see on the ground.
Don’t forget, though, that chickens roosting in trees will start to descend when the sun comes up, so a smart predator will wait until then. A tree isn’t a safe place for a chicken if you have lots of predators in your area.
7. Good Airflow
An overcrowded coop can cause disease and sickness that runs through your flock swiftly. Tree-roosting goes some way to prevent this problem.
The increased airflow also helps keep your birds cool at night, which is useful if you live in a region that gets sweltering.
Cons of Tree Roosting
It’s not all good stuff. Tree roosting can have some downsides.
1. Access by Predators
This all depends on where you live, but it’s worth remembering that chickens are pretty much helpless when it comes to predators.
If you are lucky enough to live in an area where there are no predators, and you want to allow your chickens to tree-roost, you still need to consider other cons as well.
Some common predators to consider are:
- Snakes
- Opossums
- Raccoons
- Rats
- Cats – both domestic and wild
- Weasels
- Stoats
- Bobcats
- Minx
- Hawks
Birds of prey need space to swoop, and most trees prevent this. There are reports of some birds, like owls, landing near the chickens and forcing them off the branch to the ground. Some birds of prey, like Cooper’s hawks, will even swoop into trees to hunt.
2. Loss of Eggs
If you provide a nice, warm coop for the chickens, they should form the habit of laying eggs in the nesting boxes. This is especially so if you lock them in at night and let them out mid-morning.
Those in trees may decide not to go into the coop and just lay anywhere they feel like. This could mean you miss some of the eggs, or by the time you find them, they are old.
3. Weather
Some areas have frigid winters with snow and ice. Although there are reports of chickens withstanding such temperatures with few ill-effects, this isn’t guaranteed. Some breeds are better able to withstand the cold, but some will freeze to death without shelter.
4. Chickens Use Trees to Escape
If you don’t want to free-range your chickens, you may find that the height in the tree gives them the ability to fly out of the coop into areas you would rather they didn’t go.
5. An Increase in Some Diseases
Cold, mist, fog, or moisture can cause chickens to become sick. They’re also more likely to come in contact with other birds, increasing the risk of highly transmissible diseases like avian flu.
6. Loss of Chickens in The Night
Many chicken owners who have chickens who stubbornly tree-roost have said a number of the chickens have disappeared in the night. This is likely due to predators, but unless a trail cam has been set up, no one will know.
That can be super frustrating as an owner, as it makes it hard to figure out how to offer your chickens some protection.
7. It’s Harder to Inspect or Treat the Chickens
When it’s time to inspect my chickens’ legs, wings, vents, and overall health, I have easy access to them in the coop. Doing this with tree-roosting chickens is nearly impossible if they are not overly friendly or don’t like being picked up.
Some breeds hate being picked up and will avoid being caught. When high up in the tree, it is impossible to grab them. It can be difficult to catch them if you wait for them to come down to the ground.
To Free-Roost or Not?
There are several pros and cons to tree-roosting, but the main things to consider are predators and weather. For most people in cold regions with lots of predators, tree roosting is going to lead to the rapid death of most of your birds.
But it might be healthier for your birds in a warmer region with few predators. They also might be happier up in the trees.
You also have to consider how you, as the owner, want to keep and run your chickens. If you’re willing to accept the negatives, there is nothing wrong with allowing chickens to tree-roost.
Years ago, people provided chickens with ladders to better access the trees, so it’s not unheard of to allow your chickens to free-roost. But the circumstances have to be right and it has to match up with your preferences.