Sleeping in nesting boxes.

[Chicken Fred]

I just learned about sleeping in the nesting boxes when they are supposed to be sleeping on the roost. What,s that all about? Do I need to keep them out of the nesting boxes for a while? When will I know when to let them back in? I have 4 nesting boxes, 2 on the bottom and 2 on the top. They stay in the top 2 at night. Do I need to take all the straw out? Help! Chicken Fred

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

X 2 on Michael's advice above. Alternatively (though a bit more work) you can go out at roost time and physically moved each chicken from the box to an "approved" roosting spot.....but blocking it off is so much easier and makes it a matter of the chicken choosing the right spot from the start vs. you having to change their mind. Keep in mind the "blockage" doesn't have to be anything special - I simply kept a blanket across the fronts of my boxes at first - just an old blanket I had around the house - as long as it is a barrier in the chicken's mind it works.
Chickens poop, a LOT, and the hours of roosting means there is hours worth of poop accumulating wherever they have chosen to sleep. Once the birds reach laying age you don't want the eggs being deposited in nest boxes full of poop. This is why you want to build the separation of roost and nest box in their minds.

 

[Michael OShay]

Welcome to BYC! This is a frequent question that comes up here on the forum. First of all, make sure that you have enough roosting bars that are higher than top nest boxes. Chickens will naturally gravitate to the highest place available to roost. Also, make sure that your roosting bars are made of wood, rather than metal. Metal may be easier to clean, but it,s a lot harder for chickens to grip than wood. If you are okay in these first two areas, block off the nests at night. That will keep them from using the nest boxes, and cause them to shift to the roosting bars. Leave the nest boxes blocked at night for a few days, until they become accustomed to using the roosting bars, and then you should be able to leave the nest boxes open again at night. Good luck in training your chickens to use the roosting bars.

 

[petrel]

What Michael said. Also, if they are pullets, you can leave the nest boxes blocked off around the clock until they get older and start showing signs of being ready to lay. Lastly, be sure that the roosting bars are suitably positioned. Not too close to the roof, walls, etc.

 

[TwoCrows]

Hello there and welcome to BYC!

X4 Keep the nest boxes blocked off at night every night until everybody learns to roost. Then you can leave them open all the time. Just make sure to unblock them each morning for any layers.

Good luck and welcome to our flock!

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome To BYC! If your girls are 14 months old and not roosting, I would take a look at the position/type of roost poles as mentioned above, Leghorns usually really want to roost, high. You could post a picture of your setup for suggestions on what to change.

 

[Mountain Peeps]

Welcome to BYC! Please make yourself at home and we are here to help.

X5, keep the nests blocked. Also, you may consider putting fake eggs in so they see that's where eggs go.

 

[Chicken Fred]

Now that the brooding is over, I can tell what I learned. Number one: If you can catch what is going on in the first 4 days and get her out of the nest she will start laying again within about 7 days in another nest. But if you let it keep going for two weeks or longer like I did, it may take up to 18 days after you get her out of that nest before she will start laying again. This is what I did: First I use bins that I got from Lowes as nesting boxes. They are easy to clean and when something like brooding starts all you have to do is turn it around so she can't get in it. Boy, was she (Hazel) mad. I left it in the coop for two days like that. Since I only have two hens,I set up another bin and put it in a different place in the coop so the other hen (Birdell) could keep laying and she immediately went to it and kept laying. Really it only took Hazel about a week and half before she started laying again in the new nest that Birdell was laying in. I tried to put another nest back in the first place I had put a nest, but they will not use that one again. I hope this helps and that your brooding hens will get their poop together and you don't have to wait 3 weeks for them to start laying again like I did. Chicken Fred in NC.

 

[Chicken Fred]

Oh, Something I forgot to tell you is that both of my hens are Leghorns and they give me an egg a day (big eggs). So I was used to getting 60 eggs a month. So when Hazel went broody, I was not happy..I was used to getting all these eggs and the production got cut in half. Now I'm happy again.

 

[gander007]

Alright

great to have you joining the BYC flock

BYC has a very useful learning center