Australorp pullets not perching/roosting/ sleeping in nest box

[1Chick2Chick]

My Australorp pullets are 14 weeks old... I am looking forward to collecting eggs in the coming months. However I have a few issues,

First of all they all seem to want to sleep huddled together on the floor instead of perched on the roost I made. I have put perches at all different heights and left no 'free' space on the floor. Will this help? Or is there a solution to make them roost?

Secondly I have had to block off (using sheets of plywood) the nest boxes as they were sleeping in there... At what age should I remove the plywood to allow access & start filling the nest boxes with straw and what if they decide to just use it as a comfy place to sleep?

Third and final, if you also have Australorp hens, at what age did they start to lay?

Thanks in advance for any advice of which all is welcomed by me as I am new to 'chook rearing'.

 

[redsoxs]

Are your roosts at height they can fly up to easily? I would keep the nest boxes blocked off for at least another month - not sure when they will start to lay - sometime after 20 months I suspect. Until then I wouldn't give them the opportunity to "roost" in the nest boxes. You might try placing them on the roosts at dark. Good luck to you!

 

[Kelsie2290]

The idea of roosting does seem to be age related to some degree, and some chickens just get the urge to go "up" sooner than others, ime for some reason lorps seem to be slow to get the idea. When I have had lorps in mixed batches they seem to be the last ones sitting on the floor, usually they are trying by 14 weeks though, so I would look at your roost set up from a chicken standpoint. Check the whole coop set up and perch access angles, as Redsoxs said, can they get up on them easily. Usually some sort of ladder type setup is best to teach slow learners how to get on up, these are not terribly athletic chickens so start low, the lowest one should not be more than a foot off the ground. Make sure the roosts feel secure and that they are of appropriate size and shape, 2 x 4s put the wide way seems to be popular with chickens. If the setup seems acceptable, catching them at night and putting them up on the roosts for a few nights should help them get the idea.
I'd close the nest boxes for now, at 14 weeks you probably have a month before they will lay eggs, have had about 20 of them and don't remember ever having one that started laying before 18 weeks.