Chickens sleeping in nest boxes

[Bear1978]

Don't let recommendations of how long roosts should be worry you too much. I've seen recommendations on here anywhere from 7" per chicken to 15".

No joke. I have more than plenty of roost space for my 6 girls and it never fails they’ll all be jammed together as close as they can get on one roost. Or they’ll find a freggin window ledge to roost on overnight in the coop. We get in our minds that there are certain EXACT specifications for chicken raising and where as there ARE certain things we should be mindful of, try to put into practice or avoid doing, Chickens are animals and do their own thing. And like I’ve said before- chickens are WEIRD! But from the suggestions given by the experts here I think you’ll be fine.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My chickens typically go outside in the morning and don't go back into the coop until time to roost except to lay eggs in normal weather. The hens do go back to the coop to lay. In severe weather like a storm, sometimes in winter if a cold wind is blowing, or when they have a predator scare they may go in the coop. I let them manage that. They know more about being a chicken than I do.

 

[katarobb]

This might work for your coop......
Here's an excellent modification to that kind of coop:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...ng-in-nest-boxes.1134399/page-2#post-17749535

This looks great and sounds like it worked after a while. I'm going to give it a shot along with blocking off the boxes at night. I'm so glad that I have this site! Thank you for taking the time to help a newbie. When I am more experienced, I'll pass it along to others

 

[katarobb]

Update: This was much easier than I expected. Now let's hope the girls are ok with the new arrangement. They have about 11 inches of space between the roost bars and the ceiling. We'll see if that's enough. If not, they'll continue on in the nest boxes and I am no worse off than I was this morning. Thanks again for all the help!

 

[MichelleHubs]

I'm curious if the hens changed the sleeping int the nesting boxes habit? How's it gong? I'm dealing with the same thing right now only mine ARE laying eggs. So tired of cleaning out poop from the nesting boxes and they have PLENTY of space and roosting options.

 

[katarobb]

I'm curious if the hens changed the sleeping int the nesting boxes habit? How's it gong? I'm dealing with the same thing right now only mine ARE laying eggs. So tired of cleaning out poop from the nesting boxes and they have PLENTY of space and roosting options.

The new roost bars that I installed ended up being too high so they never used them. I took them out and went with my original idea of installing a middle-height bar. I also blocked off the nest boxes at night with a piece of cardboard. I would go out before dark and put the cardboard in front of the nest boxes. The hens would come inside at dusk and stand on floor of the coop. A few times, I lifted them up onto the roost bar and soon they started going up on their own. Then after dark I would go outside and remove the cardboard so that they had access to the nest boxes for morning. It worked perfectly. About two weeks and then I didn't need the cardboard anymore. They all sleep on the roost bar now. They lay eggs everyday and they're always nice and clean in the nest box!

 

[aart]

Update: This was much easier than I expected. Now let's hope the girls are ok with the new arrangement. They have about 11 inches of space between the roost bars and the ceiling. We'll see if that's enough. If not, they'll continue on in the nest boxes and I am no worse off than I was this morning. Thanks again for all the help!

The new roost bars that I installed ended up being too high so they never used them.

These were too high? If so, what do they look like now?

 

[MichelleHubs]

Happy things worked out, I'm dealing with this right now. Would really like to have them not pooping in the nesting boxes! The funny thing is, they only started doing this about 2 weeks ago and of course just started laying 3 days ago. I think a cold snap of a 30 degree overnight chill started it.

 

[katarobb]

Happy things worked out, I'm dealing with this right now. Would really like to have them not pooping in the nesting boxes! The funny thing is, they only started doing this about 2 weeks ago and of course just started laying 3 days ago. I think a cold snap of a 30 degree overnight chill started it.

Its worth the time I put into retraining them. Hope you find the same. Keep us posted!

 

[katarobb]

what do they look like now?

Yes the old ones seemed to be just a little too close to the ceiling. Not enough headspace. This new one goes corner to corner and is just a little lower but doesn’t block the nest boxes.