chicken poo in my nesting boxes

[goldenchic]

as you can see i am a new member & very inexperienced in the world of chickens, i have been looking at this site for a few weeks and found it very informative, my 10 wk old chickens keep pooing in the nesting box, i read an article that said box the nesting boxes off so i have boxed them off for about 2 weeks now so they have now resorted to pooing in the corner in front of the nesting box. my concern is when i open the nesting box back up there going to go back to doing it in there, they dont seem to be using there roosts i have one cockerel & two pullets & they seem to huddle together in the corner any advice gratefully recieved

 

[pixie74943]

Time. Mine didnt start roosting till they were a bit older. You could put in a temporary roost that is thinner that they could get their tiny feet around, but the easiest thing is just to wait. They'll work it out eventually. And dont worry about re-opening the nest box/es until they're old enough to lay (generally 18weeks) by that time they should have worked out the roosts.

Good Luck!

 

[goldenchic]

thanks for the advice i suppose time will tell

 

[goldenchic]

Quote:
thanks for the advice i suppose time will tell

 

[hen-thusiast]

from UT! You could also try moving them to the roost after dark for a couple of night. We did that with our ladies the first night and they got the hang of it. Just make sure it's not too high of the ground.

 

[b.hromada]

and

from S. Florida! Glad you joined us! You got some good ideas from the "op". Best of luck!

 

[fldiver97]

from WI

 

[chicks4kids]

I had several that tried to sleep in the nest boxes including my roo. I went in after dusk once they were settled, and moved them to where they should go. My roo was stubborn and it probably took about 4 or 5 different nights of doing this, but eventually, they all got it.

As far as the pooing goes, I think blocking off the nest boxes are your best bet until they get old enough to lay eggs. They may have an accident or two when they start laying, but eventually they'll learn not to poo in there.

 

[teach1rusl]

Based on what I'd read here on the forum, I was using a 2 x 4 for my chicks' roost. They were about 6 wks. old, and they would not use it; they prefered the smaller 2 x 2 board I had in front of the nesting box, or the floor. Like you, I was then having to clean poop from the nesting box area and from a certain area of the floor where they would always huddle. So, as Pixie suggested, we made the main roost smaller, and rounded the edges well to make it really comfortable. We removed the nest box perch. For the first few days, we went out and set them up on the roost each night. Now (at 8 wks.) they go there by themselves!!! I have yet to put the nest box perch back up. I'll wait till they're older, and when they're a little older, I will probably go back to a 2 x 4 roost.

 

[texasgal]

A big Texas size