Well, we finally finished our coop. I'll post pictures as soon as I can figure out how! But I have a question about the nest boxes. We have 7 chickens, none of which are laying yet. They are about 19 weeks, so we are hoping they start soon. We have 3 nesting boxes. I put straw in the nest boxes and a golf ball too! Do you think it is necessary to have some kind of curtains in front of the nesting boxes? I hung a cotton napkin to cover the opening and then cut them into strips to make it easier for the girls to get in the next boxes. I don't think anyone has been in the nest yet, and I not even sure they know they are there! Any thoughts?
This is what I did to give my girls *privacy*. They had no trouble figuring out what to do when they started laying. And they use the 3 down at the farthest end.
My ladies dont have any kind of privacy other that the outside walls. They have 4 boxes within the coop and dont seem to mind at all!!!!
I've never heard of hens needing privacy to lay. We have 4 nesting boxes, but our girls just tend to stand there impatiently squawking at the one in the "favorite" box so they can have their turn.
Quote:I am far, far, far from being any kind of expert, but I did a ton of research before I jumped into this. I really liked the idea of open air coop because it can really get hot around here in the summer, even at night. A friend of mine designed it for me and helped me build it. Being so open, though, (I probably did this more for me than them at the time) I wanted them to have a nice quiet place and to feel safe when they are laying for me. It's also designed to add removable walls for winter time. I learn something new every day. But the bottom line is that the girls really, really seem to like their home...a lot. That's all that matters to me.
Some people hang curtains over the nest boxes to try to stop egg-eaters. Chickens are odd about their preferences - they'll reject anything new, and then after a week, they're insisting on it. And they always want the box somebody else is in...sometimes they'll drop eggs while they're waiting for the "good" box to come open, even if three identical boxes are sitting empty right next to it! Or they'll crawl on top of each other...silly birds!
