Egg boxes --pre laying

[JPHJPH]

Hello again! I have 5 chickens about 10 weeks old ... Maybe.... And I know they are not close to laying yet, but when I set up the coop I modified some milk crates for egg laying boxes... Well my lil chickens have decided to poop and sleep in these boxes ... All in one as a matter of fact...so should I remove the boxes until they are ready to lay or just let them be?

Thanks a lot...I have learned a lot from this forum so far .

 

[JacobMaxwell]

It's probably best to remove the boxes until the girls are 16 - 18 weeks old unless you want poop covered eggs in the future. If there are no boxes for the next 6 - 8 weeks, the chickens will get into the habit of sleeping on the roosts, not in the boxes.

 

[JPHJPH]

Thanks for the tip... I have another question... So I have my milk crate egg boxes up on the top shelf in the coop, should I eventually move the. Back up there or on the bottom?

 

[JacobMaxwell]

Thanks for the tip... I have another question... So I have my milk crate egg boxes up on the top shelf in the coop, should I eventually move the. Back up there or on the bottom?

You can move the boxes if you want. It doesn't really matter, but some hens prefer a raised nesting box, while others like a ground level box. It depends on what you and your hens like best. Also, the entrance to the box should be facing outwards, not to the side.

 

[daneblackburn]

My pullets were doing the same thing and once it started to get dark I would move them from the boxes to there roosting poles. Within a week they were roosting in the right spot on there own. I got advice from another thread on this site. I beleive my problem was that the layer boxes were higher then the Roost poles

 

[donrae]

Birds like to roost on the highest spot, that's why they're on the nest boxes. Nest boxes should be below the roosts to prevent this behavior.

Also, thinking ahead, if you ever have a broody hen, a nest box on the floor will be much more convenient for raising chicks. Not being an enabler or anything, just sayin'