16 Week Olds Roosting in Nesting Boxes

[chickburt]

I have 10 chickens, 4 Silver Lace Wyandottes who are 16 weeks old and 6 others who are 12 weeks. They were roosting fine, but a couple weeks ago we put the nesting boxes into the coop, and now the Silver Lace are roosting in the nesting boxes. Every night I put them up on the roost, and now only three of the four are roosting in the boxes. The problem is that they have caught on. Now as soon as I pick one up to put her on the roost, the other two run to the middle of the coop where I can't easily reach them. They could start laying any day now, so I hesitate to cover the nesting boxes, but I don't know what else to do. Any suggestions?

 

[fshinggrl]

At 16 weeks, you still have some time before they start laying. You could block them off for a few weeks. That said, where are your roosts on relation to the boxes? Which one is higher? Generally the hens will sleep in/on which er is higher. You want your roosts to be higher that your nesting boxes.

 

[chickburt]

Yes, the roost is higher than the nesting boxes. I'll try blocking them off. Thanks!