Chickens prefer nests?

[JeStoneIV]

I built the coop with the knowledge to make the roost higher than the nests, but still the chickens sit on and in the nests at least part of the night (in the morning they are sitting in on the roost but there is a lot of poop in the nests). Last night I put a roof-like plywood over the nests but then the chickens kept getting on the roost and jumping up on the roof and sliding off and some of the other chickens still sat in the nests. It is not a big deal, but is there a way to stop them?

I thought I had a picture, but oh well, the roost is definitely 6 inches or so higher than the nests.

 

[Jennygirl76]

I have the same problem. My hens sit in their nesting boxes at night. Is there a way to stop them from this? Its just the same two hens.

 

[dacjohns]

Block the nest entrance at night and then open it back up in the morning. Hopefully they will get trained.

 

[gsim]

Quote:
Good idea. And be sure to check all over the floor for eggs just in case you had a late or very early layer.

 

[gryeyes]

I'm having the same problem, but *ahem* I think it's cute to see them sleeping in the nest boxes. I just clean the poop each morning; it's always a big one and not all that hard to remove.

There was an egg in one of the nests this morning, before 7 a.m. so I'm hesitant about blocking off the nest boxes. Interestingly enough, there wasn't any poop in THAT nest box.....

 

[patandchickens]

Six inches is not a real big disparity -- so if it were possible to lower the nestboxes or raise the roost, that would be a good thing to try.

One thing to consider is whether there's enough accessible roost space -- is it possible that the ones that go in the boxes are there b/c they cannot easily get TO the roost, because of it already being occupied by too many chicken butts or by one or two especially clique-ish ones? Remember that in some setups, chickens can only conveniently get up onto the roost at one or two points (a ladder, or a point in the coop where there is sufficient horizontal room for a good hop or flap to get up there), and if those choke-points are occupied there can be a problem.

Another thing to consider is whether there might be something the chickens don't like about the roost -- too close to a draft from a vent? Raccoons sticking their fingers in through the hardwarecloth in case some night a chicken happens to be juuuuust close enough?

Finally, you can go out there just before you go to bed i.e. after dark, and manually relocate the nestbox inhabitants to the roost. This won't keep them from roosting there if there is a good REASON for them to be doing it, but if it's mostly just habit, it can accellerate the process of changing the habit.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[Horsefly]

We had this same problem with our chickens because of the hight of our roost. I had to go out every night for a week or two and move them from the boxes and place them on the proper roost. It took a little while but they all sleep on the roost every night now.