Chickens sitting on each other - why?

ampersand

Sorry about title, but I promised to put the question here.

S. has two girls now, who have started roosting on each other in an outside corner at night.

Is there a Why to this? - or is it just chickens being chickens, as they will.
Should he be concerned?

charlies-aunt

They are cuddling up for warmth now its turned cooler in the evenings.

They aren't the sharpest knives in the box and won't realise that its much warmer in their chicken hutch...the expression bird-brained must have been coined by an observer of these feathered bimbos

Fill the bottom of the chicken hutch with straw or shredded newspaper to help keep it warm through the night and when they start to roost, lift them down and put them on their hutch perch and shut the hutch up for the night.

You may need to do this several times before they start going in there at dusk of their own accord. Dark nights make foxes much bolder so they will be both safer and warmer shut up for the night

tracyk

My 2 Silkies (Dot & Zulu) do this but in the shed (their home). They have a competition to see who can get underneath but only during the winter months so it must be to keep warm.

InfamyInfamy

"Chickens sitting on each other..Why?"

Cos they can't reach the settee??
:rotfl:

Actually we used to have a chicken called Hetty that always came in the house & perched on the arm of my chair so I would stroke her!

Bongedone

Its a cheap seat!

Katharine

Could be they dont like the house for some reason? If you keep putting them in at night they will learn, but if they still refuse to use it there will be a reason.

pinksleepybear

If they previously used the hen house, but have now stopped despite the cold, it could be infested with red mite. Worth checking.

ampersand

Thanlyou all - and apologies for late acknowledgment. Have had trouble with Thread tools/subscriptions updating automatically.
Shall now pass this link to S.