Should I let them sleep in the nesting box?

[Amelise]

Today, my pullets are 25 weeks old. One is already squatting like she’s about to lay.
They are currently living with one older hen, who knows how to roost.
They sleep in the roosting area of the coop which has two roost bars and a dropping board below it. In the same area, and off to the side, there is an opening to the nesting box. This is where all three pullets like to sleep. I’ve been blocking it off, which causes them to sleep on the board. I’ve only had one of them sleep on one of the perches and she’s only done it twice.
I think maybe the hen (Henrietta) might be scaring them away from the perch. But when I separated her, they didn’t know what to do and didn’t even go into the roosting area.
I’m not sure what to do. I don’t want them to get dirty sleeping on the board, and I don’t want to have to clean a bunch of crap out of the nesting box every day. I’ve tried setting them on their perches every night for about a month now, but this has not worked.
How can I encourage them to roost? My Mom thinks I should just let them sleep in the nesting box until they learn to perch, but like I said, cleaning crap out of the nest box every day would be a real hassle. Any advice is appreciated, and here are pictures of the roosting area and nest box.

*Disclaimer: I know this coop is pretty small. It is located in the garage, which is why it is not predator proofed. They only go in this coop for a small part of the day, I move them to a good sized run outdoors every morning and bring them back in at night. The run has a nesting area, food, water, and shade.

 

[Party_Chicken]

Mine do it I’ve tried everything but I can’t get ‘em to roost. Yours should be fine.

 

[Amelise]

Mine do it I’ve tried everything but I can’t get ‘em to roost. Yours should be fine.

I know they’re ok physically. But it would be great if they could roost so I can clean up the poop more easily

 

[rosemarythyme]

Need you to do some measuring here. One issue with small coops is roost placement is problematic. I'm guessing the roosts are way too close to each other or to the wall(s). Roosts should be at least 12" from walls, 14-16" apart. If they're too close together, your older hen is probably harassing the younger birds until they jump off.

If you manually place the pullets on the roost, what do they do? Jump off immediately? Wait and then jump off? Stay?

I do not allow birds to sleep in the nests.

 

[Ridgeback825]

The lack of natural light schedule might be throwing them off. Our bodies are supposed to be in tune with that too, though mine is not as it's 1 am as I type this. Lol

I try to not let ours sleep in the boxes as it will cause dirty eggs, but I have 2 silkies that do often to take cover from droppings. The roost placement is important, as stated above and I found that 2 levels of bars helps the lower ranking birds give way to the higher ranking ones.

 

[aart]

Need you to do some measuring here.

This^^^
Coop looks awfully small, good space makes for better integration.....
....and yes, the roosts look to be too close to the walls.

@Amelise how many pullets?

 

[Amelise]

Need you to do some measuring here. One issue with small coops is roost placement is problematic. I'm guessing the roosts are way too close to each other or to the wall(s). Roosts should be at least 12" from walls, 14-16" apart. If they're too close together, your older hen is probably harassing the younger birds until they jump off.

If you manually place the pullets on the roost, what do they do? Jump off immediately? Wait and then jump off? Stay?

I do not allow birds to sleep in the nests.

When I place them on the roosts, they usually stay. Henrietta goes to the top roost, and I place them on the bottom. Initially she messes with at least one of them and it squeals, but it does not continue, especially because it’s mostly dark by the time i place them up there. In the morning, Henrietta wakes up before them and they stay on their roosts a little more and then eventually go down with her. I think they’re far away enough from the wall, but they might be too close together. I’ll come back with the measurements when I’m able to get them.

 

[Amelise]

This^^^
Coop looks awfully small, good space makes for better integration.....
....and yes, the roosts look to be too close to the walls.

@Amelise how many pullets?

Three pullets, one hen.

 

[Amelise]

The lack of natural light schedule might be throwing them off. Our bodies are supposed to be in tune with that too, though mine is not as it's 1 am as I type this. Lol

I try to not let ours sleep in the boxes as it will cause dirty eggs, but I have 2 silkies that do often to take cover from droppings. The roost placement is important, as stated above and I found that 2 levels of bars helps the lower ranking birds give way to the higher ranking ones.

Natural light comes through a screen door (this also helps when it’s hot in the summer). I live in a suburban leaning on more urban area so large predators are not an issue, the predator to worry about here is mostly hawks.
The bars have two levels, but it seems like they might be too close to each other.

 

[David61]

No, no sleeping in the nest box. but with chicken wire on the coop it might be good that they are hiding in the nest box.
but if you are bring the tractor in each night...