Do I need to keep moving chickens from sleeping in the nestbox?

[dbg99]

Have just got our first 3 chickens last week (red shavers), they are now trained to go up and down the ramp to their house at their will (last week I had to place them up top in their house). At nighttime, they go inside no problems...but they now lay in the nest box and sleep? The last few nights i've gone out about 10pm and picked them up and put on the perch and I'm thinking they stay there until morning. Do I keep doing this until they get the habit of going to their perch, or should I block off the nestbox early evening so they can't get in there and then go out and open up access when it's dark? Any thoughts?

 

[seminolewind]

I hope your perch is higher than the boxes. They usually to to the highest thing.
But mine is and I still have 4 that do it. I am thinking of making a slanted roof over the nests so they don't want to and can't sleep on the slant.

 

[Owner of Elsie and Doris]

My girls used to sneak into the nest box at night too so I put in an empty plant pot so they couldn't get in. It worked a treat!

from Katy in England

 

[angie3881]

I think they will decide on their own eventually. Mine did.

 

[dbg99]

So if I put a pot plant in there, after a while they'll continue to sleep on the perch? I am keen on leaving nest box open for them to go into to lay eggs but not sure how to ensure they sleep on the perch which is indeed the higher than anything else.

 

[Nonny]

I had mine for about 6 - 10 weeks before they started laying and for most of that time they chose to sleep in the nesting boxes. Once they started laying they also started using the roosts of their accord.

I'd just wait and see.

 

[Ole rooster]

They don't normally lay at night so why not block off the nest at night. You can unblock um when you let the chickens out in the mornings.