Five girls in one box!!! Help!!

[Sandzeggs]

I woke up this monrng to find 5 chicken all bundled up in one box...while the other boxes are free.i really worry abt them possibly trampling each other in the box
I was actually thinking of closing off that one box and force them to use the others but i am not sure if that will negatively affect them.

What are some possible solution!!

 

[aart]

I woke up this monrng to find 5 chicken all bundled up in one box...while the other boxes are free.i really worry abt them possibly trampling each other in the box
I was actually thinking of closing off that one box and force them to use the others but i am not sure if that will negatively affect them.

What are some possible solution!!

You have to 'fool' them.
Roost higher than nests.
Make top of nests so they can't roost there, sharply angled board attached to top of nests.
Might be necessary to block the nests near roost time so they are forced to sleep on roosts.

How old are your birds?
What breed are they?
Pics of coop and nests would help us help you.

 

[Ridgerunner]

What are some possible solution!!

They do have a place to roost...not sure if they sleep in the box i know some of them sleep on top of it

HI, welcome to the forum, glad you joined.

I'm not sure what the problem is. It's kind of hard to come up with a solution if I don't know what the problem is. The more you can help us understand what is going on the more likely we can help you.

Are they sleeping in there, all laying in there at the same time, or just gathering in there after they are awake? Is it only in the morning before you open the pop door to let them out for the day or is it during the day? Is this the first time you've seen this behavior or have you seen it before? How old are they and if you have other chickens in there how old are they? How many do you have total. Are these laying yet? Have you just added these to the flock or have they always been together? Sometimes a little history can help a lot.

Where are you located, at least close enough that we have an idea of your weather. If you modify your profile to show that information it is always available. That can help on a whole range of questions. Just knowing if you are north or south of the equator is often helpful, or which continent you are on or country you are in.

What do your facilities look like? Size of the coop and run in feet or meters is often helpful. In this case what I'd mostly be looking at is relationship of the nests and roosts, especially height, length of roosts, and how your roosts are laid out, but how crowded they are (number of chickens and size of coop) could help. Photos can be extremely helpful with that. You never know what bit of information will be useful. Aart's question on breed could provide valuable insight or allow us to say "That isn't it". It could be really helpful if you go out there after they are asleep and see where they are sleeping.

The only concern you have mentioned is you are afraid the five will trample each other. That's highly unlikely with only five but I'd like to know more before I say to not worry about it. A lot of this other stuff is about possible or perceived problems you may or may not have. If they are sleeping in the nests I'd consider that a problem because of the potential for poopy eggs. If no one is laying yet and won't be for a while that's not an immediate issue and depending on age and flock make-up may be a temporary thing. Some people consider them sleeping on top of the nests a no-no. If you have a top on the nest so they are not pooping in the nests I'd probably be happy with that. They are not fighting with others for roosting space or being brutalized by the others as they are settling in to sleep. Stopping them from sleeping on top of the nests may drive them to sleep in the nests. So don't be surprised if you get different opinions from us, that happens all the time.
I don't know if you have any real worries or not, I don't know enough about what is going on. Any help you can give us on that would be appreciated. And once again,

 

[aart]

...
A follow up response after asking questions would be nice.

Yes, it would, but that doesn't always happen.
Not everyone is online here all day every day......they may be back, or not.<shrugs>

 

[deidreg]

Can you block off the nest boxes so they must use the roost? If they're laying, you can remove the barrier after they're asleep. It's common for hens to all want to lay in the same nesting box. Also, I don't think you need to worry about anyone being trampled, assuming there are no babies.

 

[Maplerunchickens]

Sounds like they are sleeping in a pile. My silkies and EE bantam do that. It really depends on the age and kind of chickens you have... I agree with the above post that said to close off the boxes at night and get them to roost if you can.

 

[aart]

@Sandzeggs did you read you’re own thread?
Do you have answers to at least some of Aart + Ridge-runners questions so we can actually help you.

They haven't been back since their last post(#3), which was before we replied.

 

[deidreg]

Are they sleeping in the one nesting box? Do they have a place to roost at night? How old are they?

 

[Sandzeggs]

They do have a place to roost...not sure if they sleep in the box i know some of them sleep on top of it

 

[eurodanceqn]

Is their coop insulated, or are they provided supplemental heat for the winter? If they are sleeping in the nest box instead of their roost, they may just be cold and want to snuggle up for body warmth. mine will do that on really cold days