Decoy eggs?

[rosemarythyme]

Ok, I'm not seeing any threads related to my questions

Best to start new threads instead of piggybacking off an old one, especially with this many questions not relevant to original topic.

1. How will they know to stop pooping in the nest boxes once they start laying?

They won't. It sounds like you haven't been excluding them from the nests from the start so it's no different to them from any other part of the coop. Especially with them not roosting, any part of the floor is fair game for sleeping, which includes nest areas that probably just stick out to the side off the floor level.

I don't use bedding inside the house, I have a pet mat in there that is fuzzy like felt on one side and waterproof on the other.

You might want to reconsider how you're managing poop. Litter is more absorbent and will last longer.

There is one roost in there, but they don't know what to do with it.

Need to see the roost set up. Likely it's far too low to make them want to use it.

Now that they are almost laying age, I'm thinking of putting nest box excelsior mats in one the boxes to indicate this is for something else... and a nest egg.

I wouldn't put mats into them until you fix the problem of them sleeping in there, because: see #3.

2. How many nest eggs should I put in?

1 per nest is fine.

3. It seems like those excelsior mats would be impossible to clean if they got even one night's poop on them.

AFAIK they're not meant to be cleaned. You'd toss them if they're soiled.

4. I'm thinking of putting the little pet crate nest box in the bigger run in a secluded place.

You can, but they must have access to it at sunrise. If you're going that route I'd consider scrapping the idea of using the nests in the coop at all.

5. Do they always lay in the daytime?

Yes, usually. Sometimes young layers will lay off the roost at night but that's due to lack of control, not because they want to lay at night.

 

[SoCal Chicken Mama]

Thank you for your detailed responses! I did exclude them from the nest boxes at first, but as they've gotten bigger it seemed like they needed more room. Every time I look at them they are huddled up in one corner, though. But I can't see what happens after I close the door. However, they seem to have travelled around the whole floor by the way it looks in the morning. The whole floor is full of almost an inch of poop! I can't imagine leaving it in there with bedding. It stinks! It makes the run stink too. So far the mats have lasted forever. I just got more of them so I don't have to wash them so often. I'd have to get my chores done earlier to let them out at sunrise. When they were under the brooder they used to sleep from 7 to 7 (longer than my kids!), but now they wake up as soon as they hear me tooling around out there. Well, I hope they do like the under coop nest box, maybe I'll close off all but one of the in coop nest boxes. The roost is only about 6" off the floor. But it is also very small and square. Their feet are big now, I don't see how they could even hang onto it. I have a roost made of a birch branch out in the big run, and they seem to be able to hold onto it better.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Thank you for your detailed responses! I did exclude them from the nest boxes at first, but as they've gotten bigger it seemed like they needed more room. Every time I look at them they are huddled up in one corner, though. But I can't see what happens after I close the door. However, they seem to have travelled around the whole floor by the way it looks in the morning. The whole floor is full of almost an inch of poop! I can't imagine leaving it in there with bedding. It stinks! It makes the run stink too. So far the mats have lasted forever. I just got more of them so I don't have to wash them so often. I'd have to get my chores done earlier to let them out at sunrise. When they were under the brooder they used to sleep from 7 to 7 (longer than my kids!), but now they wake up as soon as they hear me tooling around out there. Well, I hope they do like the under coop nest box, maybe I'll close off all but one of the in coop nest boxes. The roost is only about 6" off the floor. But it is also very small and square. Their feet are big now, I don't see how they could even hang onto it. I have a roost made of a birch branch out in the big run, and they seem to be able to hold onto it better.

You do need to start your own thread, but the main reason for virtually all your problems is that your coop is way too small for the number and size of your hens. Briefly you need about 4 sq ft of coop per hen, not counting the nests.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thank you for your detailed responses! I did exclude them from the nest boxes at first, but as they've gotten bigger it seemed like they needed more room. The whole floor is full of almost an inch of poop! I can't imagine leaving it in there with bedding.

Both of these are addressed by BigBlueHen53... without knowing the dimensions of the coop, it's likely way too small for the number of birds you have, so that's why they're using the nesting space just to be able to spread out a bit. And simply put, lack of floor space = poop accumulates faster, percentage wise.

I'd have to get my chores done earlier to let them out at sunrise.

That's the downside with an external nest (i.e. the one under the coop) the birds must be able to access it as soon as they're awake, or they're just going to lay eggs anywhere in the coop. Which again leads to poopy eggs.

An auto door is an option but frankly I don't know if I'd invest in one... I'd rather put the money into expanding the coop. As it's a long write up rather than post it here (and make things even longer!) I'll link you to my copy/paste response: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/coop-from-tsc.1636236/page-4#post-27944339

Well, I hope they do like the under coop nest box, maybe I'll close off all but one of the in coop nest boxes.

Assuming you keep the under coop nest box I'd leave the nest boxes open just to add floor space to the coop. But count that as just open space, they're not going to be nest boxes if used that way.

The roost is only about 6" off the floor. But it is also very small and square. Their feet are big now, I don't see how they could even hang onto it. I have a roost made of a birch branch out in the big run, and they seem to be able to hold onto it better.

At the very least I'd replace the current roost with something thicker (and a 2" diameter branch does fine, that's what I use) and move it higher if there's any space at all to see if that helps encourage them to use it.

 

[SoCal Chicken Mama]

BlueHen and Rosemary and Thyme,
Thank for sharing your knowledge. My coop is a very similar size to the one in the link one of you sent, and probably could be modified in a similar way, but there are several reasons I don't want to do that right now. The main one is that we have had many days this summer over 105 degrees, and that under coop run is the best spot for deep shade to keep them and their food and water cool in these high temps. During the day I leave it open to the larger run, and they often retreat in there during the hottest part of the day. Even with the shade tarps and the tree, I can't duplicate that deep shade in the bigger run, which is 87sq ft, including the under coop part. If I enclosed the bottom to make more coop space, I think it would be hotter in there. Second, in winter we have few days (SoCal) or nights below 40 degrees, so there really isn't a need for more warm indoor space. They really only use the coop house part for sleeping out of sight and one more layer of security from predators. Of course, we haven't been through a winter yet. If I can easily get all the poop out of their sleeping area (with the mats) every day, why wouldn't I? I live in a tract home in a city, so I will never be allowed to have more than 4 chickens, and the coop/run can never be anywhere but exactly where it is (25 ft. from all the neighbors). I hope to soon get a chicken tractor that will allow me to pasture them on the back lawn part of every day, and this will further diminish the concentration of poop. If they destroy the lawn, I plan to replace it with California native grasses, which take less water and require less mowing. So far I haven't found one with enough grazing space, and I'm afraid if I made a DIY one it would be to heavy for me to move around. I did put the excelsior mats in one nest box and in the pet crate nest box, and I can see that they've gone in to look around (feathers), but I don't see any poop in either of them. Interestingly, in the last few nights when I come out to remove the flashlight (they don't like to go up the ramp into the house if it is completely dark), I have found three of them on the skinny roost. Although there is plenty of room, the last one won't go up there, nor will she let me put her up there. Somehow they do learn what they need to know without anybody to teach them.

 

[rosemarythyme]

If I enclosed the bottom to make more coop space, I think it would be hotter in there.

So don't enclose it then. Leave it completely open wire, then you get a cooler coop and a cooler area they can use in the day too. The example I linked was someone in a different climate than you and as you noted you don't need to compensate for cold temperatures. You still need more space and ventilation in the coop, which deconstructing the coop/run would accomplish. It would also provide natural light to lure them into cooping up for the night, as you've noted they won't go inside if it's too dark to see.

If I can easily get all the poop out of their sleeping area (with the mats) every day, why wouldn't I?

If you're satisfied with that arrangement, then no reason not to continue it. But if they continue to poop in the nest area you're going to need to rethink the set up.

Also please use paragraph breaks in the future, it's very hard to read a single run-on post.

 

[SoCal Chicken Mama]

Ok. (Paragraphs). If I do modify the store bought coop, all I would have to do is remove the floor. Then the roosts would be up high, ventilation would still be there, etc. Good idea! I would just need to move the ramp to the nest area. There would be three roosts because the bars that hold up the floor would serve as roots if the floor was out. I'll try it and see if they like it during the day. Ok. anything further on this subject would go in a new post in Coop construction, etc?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Ok. (Paragraphs). If I do modify the store bought coop, all I would have to do is remove the floor. Then the roosts would be up high, ventilation would still be there, etc. Good idea! I would just need to move the ramp to the nest area. There would be three roosts because the bars that hold up the floor would serve as roots if the floor was out. I'll try it and see if they like it during the day. Ok. anything further on this subject would go in a new post in Coop construction, etc?

I'd maybe drop the roosts if you're removing the floor... well, it depends on how much landing space there is. If a roost is 1' up, they need about 1' in front of them to land. 2' up, 2' in front, and so on.

Also nest boxes really should be lower, as most chicken breeds instinctively want to spend the night up high. As noted the conversion write up is a general guideline, and not specific to any one prefab or climate type.

And yes, a new thread with plenty of photos in Coop & Run would be appropriate, and hopefully get more pointers from folks with similar set ups or a similar climate, to more precisely pinpoint what would work best.

 

[SoCal Chicken Mama]

Currently they fly up to the bars that hold the floor up, from the bottom of the under coop run, about 2 ft. They do it every time I pull the floor out to clean it. There is plenty of room to land.
I tried today, but I can't pull the floor all the way out. The tree is in the way. (It was there first, before the coop). So I have it propped half in and half out, so they can still fly up to the roosts if they want.

They fly all over the big run, all day long. Maybe they won't when they are bigger and heavier. They look fully grown to me, but they could get bigger. I made them a new, bigger dust bath tub, and they seem pretty happy with it.