Teaching To Use New Nesting Boxes-How To Do It?

[muffy432002]

Hi All,
We have recently built a "real" chicken coop. For the last year we have been using an extra large doghouse to house our 12 girls. in the past they have always just laid their eggs in a spot in the doghouse with no nesting box. Now that we have built this new coop with the fancy nesting boxes they are looking at them like they don't know what to do with them. Each box (there are 8) has a golf ball in it. This morning when laying time occurred there was a lot of fuss of getting out of the pen to go back to the doghouse to lay. They were pacing and carrying on so that I caved and let them out to go lay in the doghouse. How do I help them make this transition? Do I just cut off the doghouse and say "deal with it"? or what? I love my girls, maybe a bit too much! We are presently getting about 8 eggs a day and I don't want to upset production as I have a CSA and eggs are a little bonus to the share. Any ideas?
Thanks!
Mary

 

[SmartyChick]

I have struggled with this too. Our girls were used to laying on the floor, and we have tried the golf ball thing, but they just kick them out and fuss and squawk etc.

After a month, mine have finally got it

. I would try blocking the dog house, this may or may not work,they could just start laying somewhere else other than the boxes. Give it some time. It is SOOOOO frustrating I know.

Also make sure they are the "right" size. Our hens like the boxes bigger then average, your may need a "custom" size. Also experiment with bedding. Some like shaving, some like straw, some grass or hay, the list goes on and on. Mine like hay and only hay. Hope it works for ya! Patience is a virtue....

 

[SmartyChick]

PS I wrote this to my girls before they started to lay in their boxes, thought you might enjoy it.

The Nesting Box Lament


You used to lay in a dresser drawer
In the hay or on the floor
Till spacious nesting boxes we made
And for the wood we dearly paid
Not to small and not to tall
And for the general comfort all
We put them in your coop
Carefully you exanimate
And you still procrastinate
We lined them soft with sweet hay
And yet you still refuse to lay!
With fine woodchips they were lined
And all you did was poop inside.
Oh, what more do you want??
So we took out the dresser drawer
But eggs appear now on the floor
The nests must have some dread untold
Because you refuse lay your eggs of gold
Your turned up beaks and evil stares
Indicate your dislike for the nesting squares
Hens When will you lay inside??
I’ve coaxed, tricked and shoved you in
Every morn I hear the egg song din
I hope the eggs inside you lay
I go out to see them full, but nay!
They are on the dirty floor
Right beside the big barn door
I know your trying to mock
The humans that built that nesting box!
I know I’m going to loose my mind
I don’t find at least ONE inside
To give me a little hope
I know the victory shall be mine
When again on eggs I dine
Carefully in a nest is laid
All nestled in the sweet soft hay
Oh, yes that will be the day
When I can so proudly say
“Those stupid hens finally laid in the nesting boxes!!!”

3/31/10
VH

 

[Davaroo]

Cute poem!

For those trying to get chickens to nest, try a communal nest. They are said to take to these better than open fronted ones we prefer.

 

[purpledonna]

You could try placing a few of their own eggs in the new boxes ......

 

[Tamrajh]

What's a "communal nest"?

 

[SmartyChick]

I was wondering the same thing

 

[Davaroo]

Most people use individual nests, the kind we are most familiar with.
Chickens will use them eventually but they prefer more seclusion, more privacy. Just think of the hen that lays behind stuff, in an out of the way corner. She's telling you what she prefers by these actions, when the choice is hers.

A communal nest is just a large enclosure or box, with a chicken sized opening at both ends or in the middle. It is WELL VENTILATED and tall enough for the hen, with 2-3" of straw or other bedding inside.

When the pullets eventual curiosity drives her to go inside, she finds a nicely darkened and cozy nest space. She is less inclined to be bothered by the other birds, and she isn't out in the glaring light of the open coop. This makes her happy.

These nests also prevent egg eating to a great degree, since chickens dont peck at the eggs if they cant see them well. The communal nest also gives them more "elbow room" to move around in, so they are less likely to stumble foot around and break eggs that way. They dont fight over nest space or crowd into a single nest with them, either. Less accidental breakage, ergo, less egg eating.

A pullet will not lay until she is ready. You cant change that, you cant rush it. But if she has already found a floor level nest box and likes it, she should be inclined to lay in it when the magic moment comes.

 

[underground chickenman]

Well, we're past this now, but it is best to expose them to the boxes before they lay their first egg. Having said that, they will still use a nest box as long as it meets their criteria. The basic criteria are these:

Size: Not too big, not too small. Your hens are used to laying in what sounds like a small, cozy private place, which is what they prefer. You need to make your nest boxes better than the doghouse. They need to be a cube of about 12-14 inches. Provide a lip on the top and bottom of 2 or 3 inches each so that the opening is only about 10 inches high. They will duck in to lay. I have a square of black cloth cut up the middle stapled as a curtain to the front of mine.

Location: Deepest, darkest, most isolated, non-trafficed part of the coop.

Accessible: If it is too high, they might use them. Put them about 2.5 to 3 ft above the floor with an intermediate step to make it easier to get into.

Light: It needs to be fairly dark even in daylight.

Patience: Put a ceramic egg or golf ball in each nest and wait. Close off the dog house. Lock them in the coop for the first half of the day for a while. The worst they will do is lay on the floor of the coop, which is what they were doing in the dog house anyway.

Good luck and let us know if they drop one in the box.

UGCM

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
By following this advice, i.e.,

- reducing the entrance size,
- right sizing the nest,
- placing them in darkened areas or adding curtains over the front,
- keeping them low, rather than high...

You come very near to creating the same conditions as found in the communal nest. UGCM gives some good advice.

The individual nest box we most commonly use was developed for the convenience of the chicken keeper, not the egg hen. It is actually an offshoot of earlier commercial ways of working. It was superseded by the commercial battery cage system we are familiar with today. It has it's advantages, as it simplifies egg collecting and cleaning/servicing of the nests. But it isn't what best suits the bird.

PS Make the bottom of your nests from chicken wire. Then lay in a piece heavy paper and add some cushiony litter. When it is time to clean the nest, just lift out the paper - litter and all. The wire bottom deters mites and other pests and whatever remains behind the paper extraction simply falls on to the coop floor for clean up.