2 freakin' MONTHS gone to waste!!!

[Year of the Rooster]

After two MONTHS of blocking the nest boxes off with cardboard, my EE still insists on sleeping in the nest box!!!

Every time I go to shut the coop, she is always in there and it ticks me off

Anyone know I can do to stop this? Like put her in a crate for a night or two? Grrrrrrrrr....

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

have you tried curtains, on the nest boxes, I've had that work

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Not gone to waste! You have learned she is determined and maybe has a need for sleeping in the nest box (maybe she sleeps soundly and falls from the roost – or hates the others touching her)

I have a couple hens who prefer a wider roost – and so chose a 2x6 over the 2x4 – maybe offer her a wider (6 inch) roost.

 

[WildBurroShirts.com]

Quote:
I'm new to chickens but my guess is this post above is right: my EE's have a 4x6 roost attached to a huge platform...they're always falling off onto the platform. They also have two 14 inch WIDE shelves and they wrestle around so much they're always pushing each other off. Event the dang roo gets into shoving matches and birds hit the floor...bet she doesn't enjoy the antics.

 

[NYREDS]

Why do you perceive this as a problem great enough to be upset about?

 

[Buck Creek Chickens]

Quote:
Because when a hen sleeps in a nest box she poops in the nest box and than a different hen lays an egg and you get a dirty egg

 

[patman75]

Quote:
Has she started laying eggs yet? I'm dealing with the same problem and dont plan to unblock the nest boxes at night until all of my hens are laying + a few extra weeks. I also added a larger/wider higher roost.

 

[Year of the Rooster]

Quote:
Because she is a YEAR OLD for god's sake and should know by now NOT to. Nest boxes are called nest boxes for a reason. Same thing with roosts.

And she has been laying since Feb./March.

 

[SallyF]

Quote:
Because when a hen sleeps in a nest box she poops in the nest box and than a different hen lays an egg and you get a dirty egg

And then you have a dirty egg and you wash it off. Mine sleep in the nest boxes every night. I just change the pine bedding frequently and wash the eggs that are dirty. I figure the chicken knows what it needs to do so I don't interfere. I got tired of beating my head on that particular wall.

 

[KellyHM]

I'm not sure how your boxes are set up, but is it possible to remove them at night? Where did she sleep when the boxes were blocked off?