poopy eggs

newbie here. do my nesting boxes have to be on the floor to keep my hens from sleeping and pooping in them? crazy rooster is sleeping in them also. my roost bar is above my boxes as i believe it should be.

They would probably sleep in the nests if they were on the floor too. To break their habit of sleeping in the nests, cover the nests as soon as it gets dark outside, and uncover them early in the morning, after your flock has gotten off the roosts.

I'll try it. How long will I need to do this you think? Thanks btw.

I will try it. How long will I need to do this? Thanks btw

jeepgurl72 said:

I'll try it. How long will I need to do this you think? Thanks btw.

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Some people do it all the time just as part of their daily chicken chores. I would say start off with doing it for a few weeks, then try uncovering them at night to see what your flock does. No problem

Thanks again. I'll let ya know how it goes. Hope it works it's driving me crazy. Lol

Chickens don't want to move in the dark. Maybe you could go in when you plan to close the pop door and physically put each one on the roost and leave. Hopefully they will stay on the roost till morning.

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

Thanks for joining us, it's nice to have you here. I hope you can get your birds to cooperate, messy nesting boxes day after day would be a pain.

Good luck!

My nesting bins are all down on the ground, and none of them sleep in it. They all sleep on the top nesting shelf around my cockerel. I built a "ladder" so they could get up to the shelves and they love them. I built a "lip" on the nesting shelves and they love to roost on it.

I DID have some nesting bins on the top shelf that were pointless. Not only did they NOT use them, they just pooped in them (so it was just a bunch of wasted straw and shavings). I took them out and put bins in elsewhere and they are happier.

I know that every chicken is different, but I've not had issues with mine (other than the bright idea of sticking bins in the middle of the top shelf). When I introduced them to the coop I put them on the nesting shelf the first several nights. My cockerel was having a tough time figuring out the "ladder" at first so I would put him on the shelf first (pretending to walk him up the ladder) then put the girls up on and they would all just crowd around him. I don't know if that played a part in why they stay there now or not, but they love that one spot. It's funny because he could get down the ladder, but didn't climb up at first!