Chickens Sleeping in Nesting Boxes

[kellyangel77]

I know a few other people have had this problem and I wondering if there was any way to fix it. I have had my two chickens since they were quite young and they use to sleep together in one nesting box and when they grew bigger they slept in one each. A couple of months back they stated sleeping on their roosts which was great as it meant I had less cleaning to do. They stayed sleeping there for about a month or so, but just recently they have gone back to sleeping in their nesting boxes. I has wondering why that happened. It shouldn't be anything to do with the weather as it is summer here and nothing else has changed.

Since I have a pre-made coop, there is no way for me to adjust the roosts as they are now only a couple of centimeters off the tray which is under them, which is the same height as their nesting boxes. I want to know if there is anything else I can do to encourage them to sleep where they are supposed and why the sudden change in behavior.

 

[sourland]

Who knows why chickens do the things that they sometimes do? Since you can't raise the roosts or lower the nest boxes (best solution) try locking them out of the nest boxes for a while.

 

[cstronks]

I'm not sure what caused the change, but maybe you should build a roost and stick it in there. Pre-fab coops can be very tough to work with, but screwing a 2 x 4 in there and taking the old roost out could do the trick.

 

[Ramblin Rooster]

I know a few other people have had this problem and I wondering if there was any way to fix it. I have had my two chickens since they were quite young and they use to sleep together in one nesting box and when they grew bigger they slept in one each. A couple of months back they stated sleeping on their roosts which was great as it meant I had less cleaning to do. They stayed sleeping there for about a month or so, but just recently they have gone back to sleeping in their nesting boxes. I has wondering why that happened. It shouldn't be anything to do with the weather as it is summer here and nothing else has changed.

Since I have a pre-made coop, there is no way for me to adjust the roosts as they are now only a couple of centimeters off the tray which is under them, which is the same height as their nesting boxes. I want to know if there is anything else I can do to encourage them to sleep where they are supposed and why the sudden change in behavior.

I have four that roost, the rest either sleep on the floor or nest boxes, I've tried everything, I just gave up.

 

[cstronks]

Another thing you can do is take them from the box and put them on the roost. This is usually something that happens when the chickens are first introduced to the coop as young pullets. When I first got my chickens, I made sure to put them on the roost when the sun went down. I did it for about 3 days...after that, they got the idea.

 

[kellyangel77]

Ok, thank you.

 

[shmeggs]

I got 3 young hens that I have had about a week now. they go to roost in the nest boxes and I move them to the roost every night. we have a couple different roosts different heights not sure what to do either.

 

[Percheron chick]

A few of my hens started sleeping in the boxes this week. I'm sure it has something to do with the weather (subzero). I.m not going to worry about it. They should move out when it ”warms up”.

 

[jstlitlome]

My coop is custom built, but my roosts are over my nest boxes because I didnt know better at the time. I covered them with burlap until they were ready to lay. Then I took the burlap down. They started roosting in the boxes, but with a few nights of consistent moving them to the roost, (after dark so they wont find their way back) they got the hint. now they all roost on the roost like good little hens.