Dirty Eggs, Messy Girls

[MRWORNOUT]

I have 8 Nesting Boxes and provide good layer of straw for comfort to the girls.
My hens seems to think they are for Roosting at night and Pooping in.
They lay eggs in there then poop on the eggs.
Is there anyway to do this different?

 

[Savager]

I have 8 Nesting Boxes and provide good layer of straw for comfort to the girls.
My hens seems to think they are for Roosting at night and Pooping in.
They lay eggs in there then poop on the eggs.
Is there anyway to do this different?

How many girls do you have? Sometimes having too many boxes will encourage sleeping in them, and then pooping in them.

 

[MRWORNOUT]

I have 8 Nesting Boxes and 16 Girls
The Nesting Boxes are attached to the Coop (10 ft x 10 ft x 10 ft) the 8 Nesting Boxes are 18 in square with an outside access door

 

[Savager]

I have 8 Nesting Boxes and 16 Girls
The Nesting Boxes are attached to the Coop (10 ft x 10 ft x 10 ft) the 8 Nesting Boxes are 18 in square with an outside access door

1:2 isn't that bad but you might see a little improvement by blocking off a couple of the boxes.

 

[MRWORNOUT]

Thanks for the advice

 

[Bamabexchicks]

I have 8 Nesting Boxes and provide good layer of straw for comfort to the girls.
My hens seems to think they are for Roosting at night and Pooping in.
They lay eggs in there then poop on the eggs.
Is there anyway to do this different?

We are in the process of teaching one hen to not roost on the nest boxes; same reason, she poops in the boxes and everyone lays eggs in the mess. We go out every nite and check,if she's on the box we put her on the roost. This was a suggestion given on this site by wise chicken folk. It works and she is learning where to sleep. You just have to be consistant.

 

[MissChick@dee]

I have 8 Nesting Boxes and 16 Girls
The Nesting Boxes are attached to the Coop (10 ft x 10 ft x 10 ft) the 8 Nesting Boxes are 18 in square with an outside access door

If they have roosting perches encourage them to use them. Block off the nesting boxes at night. Open the boxes up in the morning. They’ll continue to sit in their poop at night which is not good for their health. Crusty poop ends can lead to a lot of different problems that you really don’t want to have to treat. You can break them of this habit. Just takes a little effort on your end be consistent and they will learn to be too. Best wishes

 

[Mimi13]

If they have roosting perches encourage them to use them. Block off the nesting boxes at night. Open the boxes up in the morning. They’ll continue to sit in their poop at night which is not good for their health. Crusty poop ends can lead to a lot of different problems that you really don’t want to have to treat. You can break them of this habit. Just takes a little effort on your end be consistent and they will learn to be too. Best wishes

x2 Couldn’t have said it better.

 

[Cryss]

Block the nests an hour or 2 before they head into bed at night. In the morning when you let them out open only 3 nests. Do this every night opening the same 3 nests. I'd keep it up till they've not pooped in a nest for a couple of weeks. And make sure they have a roost that is higher than the nests. They always want to go to the highest point to sleep.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Can we get a picture of your set up? Where are the roosts are as oppose to the nest boxes? Roosts should be higher than the nest boxes.
Rule of thumb is 4 hens to 1 nest ... Figure out their favorite then close off the rest.