My main flock lives in a really nice 13 foot by 7 1/2 foot by 6 foot tall henhouse with an adjacent 400 square foot, fenced in chicken yard.
Inside the main henhosue is a 3 foot by 6 foot by 3 foot tall covered plywood box, and inside that box are three very private, comfy nests.
Then out in the chicken yard towards the back I built what was SUPPOSED to be a special housing unit for sick or injured birds, or a safe place for a broody to do her thing. This was an insulated box 4 feet by 4 feet by 3 feet tall with a pop door for the chickens and a lifting lid to allow me to service the unit. I did put a nest in there for use by the sick, injured or broody bird, and figured it would go unused when there was nobody living in that emergency housing unit. I put a feeder and a waterer in there for the kids when they were in the back of their play area and didn't want to walk all the way back to the main henhouse.
Well, that is what **I** was figuring the auxilliary housing unit would be used for.
My thirteen main flock hens had a DIFFERENT IDEA.
About a month after I built that special housing unit, the first of the girls decided she wanted to lay in there.
Within a week, all 13 girls switched their egg production from the egg laying nests in the main henhouse to the single nest located in that remote little special housing unit.
Nothing I could do would change their minds. They wanted to turn that emergency housing unit into an "egg barn."
So, finally, I took out the feeder and waterer and replaced them with nests.
Now there are two nests in there (soon to be three), and 13 hens fight for time in the Egg Barn, while the three nests in the main henhouse go unused.
In fact, last week when we had that Arctic cold blast and zero degree wind chill, I couldn't let the kids out until well into the afternoon because there was a sheet of ice in their chicken yard.
Would you believe that they refused to lay inside their old laying area in the main henhouse, but instead held their eggs in until I finally let them out and they could get to the Egg Barn? Then there was a fight to see who could lay in there first!
Goofy birds!
Inside the main henhosue is a 3 foot by 6 foot by 3 foot tall covered plywood box, and inside that box are three very private, comfy nests.
Then out in the chicken yard towards the back I built what was SUPPOSED to be a special housing unit for sick or injured birds, or a safe place for a broody to do her thing. This was an insulated box 4 feet by 4 feet by 3 feet tall with a pop door for the chickens and a lifting lid to allow me to service the unit. I did put a nest in there for use by the sick, injured or broody bird, and figured it would go unused when there was nobody living in that emergency housing unit. I put a feeder and a waterer in there for the kids when they were in the back of their play area and didn't want to walk all the way back to the main henhouse.
Well, that is what **I** was figuring the auxilliary housing unit would be used for.
My thirteen main flock hens had a DIFFERENT IDEA.
About a month after I built that special housing unit, the first of the girls decided she wanted to lay in there.
Within a week, all 13 girls switched their egg production from the egg laying nests in the main henhouse to the single nest located in that remote little special housing unit.
Nothing I could do would change their minds. They wanted to turn that emergency housing unit into an "egg barn."
So, finally, I took out the feeder and waterer and replaced them with nests.
Now there are two nests in there (soon to be three), and 13 hens fight for time in the Egg Barn, while the three nests in the main henhouse go unused.
In fact, last week when we had that Arctic cold blast and zero degree wind chill, I couldn't let the kids out until well into the afternoon because there was a sheet of ice in their chicken yard.
Would you believe that they refused to lay inside their old laying area in the main henhouse, but instead held their eggs in until I finally let them out and they could get to the Egg Barn? Then there was a fight to see who could lay in there first!
Goofy birds!
