escaping chickens

[Jewelwing]

Do you guys have trouble with your chickens wanting to escape when you open the hatch to the nest boxes?

I'm going to have three nest boxes, and I had been planning to have the back be one long board that is hinged and swings down, so it would all be open from the back for egg collecting. But now that I'm thinking about it, I wonder if the chickens will fly out of one nest while I'm getting eggs out of a different one. So maybe I should have three separate doors?

Or will they generally choose to be out in the run during the day unless they're laying? I know next to nothing about chickens!

Right now they're still in the brooder, but several of them have attempted to escape while the lid is cracked open to refresh their food or water.

 

[gryeyes]

When I had a coop with those type of nest boxes, the only reaction to my opening the door - when a hen was on the nest - was a dirty look for disturbing her.

When chickens are of an age to lay, they are far less flighty than when they are chicks in the brooder. Youngsters want to stretch their wings - literally - to exercise their muscles. Plus, frankly, after a while, being in a big box is boring. Of course they want to get out of it.

Chickens do not tend to wait in line, hoping somebody will open the nest box lids to allow their escape.

I wouldn't worry about it. Build your nest boxes any way you like. They are really for us humans' convenience so we don't have to hunt all over for eggs to collect them.

 

[Jewelwing]

Great! I just need to hurry up and get this thing done so the chicks can move in! They are totally sick of their brooder, I think. It's 3'x7' (there are 9 of them), but less than 2' high, so I think they want to get out and fly!

Thanks for the info!

 

[JanetS]

I agree. We've never had problems with our chickens flying or jumping out of the nesting boxes. How old are your chicks? Pictures?? We put our chickens outside in their coop when they were around 8 weeks old.

 

[Jewelwing]

My chicks are 6 weeks old. They seem huge!! I want to get them in the coop as fast as I can. Here they are:




I think the first picture is a better one overall, but you only get to see the beak of Big Mama Brahma - she's super friendly and is always the closest one. She's front and center in the second pic. And the second pic is funny because the 5 breeds are kind of grouped together. You can see some of them eyeing the crack in the coop lid (I lifted it slightly to get the picture).

And, yes, I noticed their water was knocked over. I fixed it right after the pictures.

In the second pic, the other Brahma is Amy. The two Speckled Sussex (looking right at the camera - thanks girls!) are Dr. Pecker and Ethel. Behind them are the two Welsummers, Deinonychus and Toothless. The lone Faverolle is Sally (we had two but one died at just 1 week old). In the back are the two Australorops, Adele and Cricket.

In the first pic, you can see how tiny Ethel's tail is (she's the Sussex in the very front of the picture). I hope she's not a he!