Sleeping in the nests?

Is there a way to enclose your nesting area so they are more like boxes?? Then I would add different heights of stoops and a couple significantly higher than the boxes.. Just a suggestion...

mhegge said:

They're sitting on the edge of the nesting boxes there and the roost bar is on the opposite wall. It's hard to tell from this angle, but it is about 11 inches from the back of the bar to the wall and it is a few inches wide. I've put them on it before and the sit, they just don't roost. I filled the boxes last night with planters and some strategically placed boards, and they roosted on top of the planters

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Hmmmm..that a lot of nest for just 4 hens.
You'd need a board(or boards) as long as the nest and twice as wide so you can prop it up and it forms a sharp angle so they can't roost on it.
...or you could use pieces of heavy cardboard.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/pictures-of-chicken-nesting-boxes-how-to-build-a-nest-box

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/41108/show-us-your-nest-boxes-ingenous-design-post-it-here

This might get your nesting area in the right direction and look less roost-worthy.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'll play around with it and get back to you!

Any luck????

Well, I used milk crates to make boxes and the first night I used tin roofing at an angle to block. They knocked it down and roosted on the crate, lol. The next night I put the roofing in front hoping they wouldn't jump over and put in a new wider roost to seem more like the box area. That night I went out, found them on the boxes, and moved them to the new roost, where they stayed all night! I didn't get to go out to check tonight as I came down with a stomach bug and chicken care was left to the boys. I'm hoping they roosted there again, but will know later today if I can venture out. I'll keep you posted though and try to get a pic.

Each night I go out and put them on the roost...eventually they'll surprise me Sometimes a few get up there by themselves, but I know how much they like change so we'll just keep working at it!

I had to look around the photo a bit until I saw the roosting bar. This might seem like a weird idea, but maybe you could paint the roost black and the wall white so that from chicken height, the roost stands out against the white. I've noticed with mine that they seem to 'lose' their favourite roosting spot until they're very close to the floor beneath it. I guess they're seeing it silhouetted against the sky?

You could also paint the roost white, which would be the easier option, but I don't know if their chicken brains would process light-on-dark as a roostable solid object.

Sutremaine said:

I had to look around the photo a bit until I saw the roosting bar. This might seem like a weird idea, but maybe you could paint the roost black and the wall white so that from chicken height, the roost stands out against the white. I've noticed with mine that they seem to 'lose' their favourite roosting spot until they're very close to the floor beneath it. I guess they're seeing it silhouetted against the sky?

You could also paint the roost white, which would be the easier option, but I don't know if their chicken brains would process light-on-dark as a roostable solid object.

Click to expand...

I actually switched their roost to a section of white slat fence I found in the barn. I need to get a new pic up. They stay there all night once I put them there. I was also thinking of putting a board or something on top of the crate nesting boxes so that if they want to go up there, no poop goes in the nests.. kind of a double option.

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New roost and nesting crates with a barn board cover in case they do go up there to keep the poop out of the nests.