How to keep them out of the nest box

[AllisonK]

We have 8 chickens (2 RIR, 2 EE, 1 unsure, 1 polish, 1 gold sexlink, 1 black Ostralorp all between 4.5 to 6 months), none laying yet but soon I hope. I opened up the nest boxes a few weeks ago just in case and some of the chickens go sit in there during the day and kick all the straw out into the coop. They do not sleep in there at night they use the roost. There is a 2 inch lip on the boxes but all the bedding still gets kicked/scratched out. I think it is the ostralorp since every time I have checked she is the one in there but it could be the others too I guess. All three nestboxes will be empty of bedding within a day of me putting more in there. We have a golf ball in each one and those are kicked out into the coop as well. Any ideas on how to stop this?

Thanks

 

[NaturalChick]

I'm not sure about keeping them out of the nesting boxes, and I don't think I would want to discourage them from being in them especially if they are not laying yet.

I would suggest putting a higher lip on the boxes so when they scratch and kick the nesting material it gets moved around how they like it but it all stays in the boxes.

I would think a total of six inches would be good, but you may have to watch them and experiment with different heights.

Hope that helps...Good Luck!

 

[ScrambledAcresFarm]

You might try stapling down chicken wire in the bottom of the boxes. This works for a lot of animals in a lot of situations. They don't like the feel when they scratch. Of course recover with bedding.

 

[AllisonK]

Quote:
Could they still get in it then? The boxes are about 14 inches high (I think?) so that would not leave a lot of room.

 

[AllisonK]

Quote:
This might be something to try.

Would hardware cloth work the same as I don't have any chicken wire?

 

[Beekissed]

I will tell you what I did to our doghouses for the same problem...this might be possible? I took old inner tubes and cut them open to form a wide band and fastened them to the bottom lip. This keep the hay/straw in and still allows them entrance to the house, or nests, in your case. Nice and flexible for getting in and out of, but tall enough to keep the contents from getting kicked out. Has saved me a lot of wasting of straw in the dog houses.

 

[ScrambledAcresFarm]

You'd be surprised what a chicken can get into!
I came home one day from grocery shopping and as I headed toward the door with my arms full of bags, I seen something on the ground. It was a bread bag that had evidently blown from the burn barrel into the yard. I looked down at it as I passed and noticed my hen was pecking the crumbs out of the bottom of the bag. Well, I made 2 more trips to the car for groceries and the whole time I kept passing her, she never moved. So, I stopped, looked down at her and realized she was stuck inside the bag! She went in and couldn't back out! The whole end of the bread bag was full of condensation from her breathing! I had to pick up the bag and shake it to get her out.

 

[Kentucky]

Allison:

For what its worth, I almost created a similar situation, I use the fine wood chips on the coup floor, so I thought I would load the nest boxes with nice soft straw or lawn grass clippings.

After I had gathered up a basket full of what I thought was the nicest nest box material, I opened the pen and set it inside. By the time I closed the gate and turned around (3) three chickens were already in the basket scratching, kicking and digging around.

Needless to say, I let them have the pile of soft grass clippings and I put fine wood chips in the nest boxes, which seems to be totally acceptable.

Kentucky

 

[Farm Chic]

this is kind of related - my rooster goes in the nest boxes and scratches and settles dow sometimes. is this normal? or is this another "male thing" again?