Getting the girls out of nesting box at night

[chickenthyme]

Just recently added two Ameraucanas to my flock of 5 that are probably a month younger. Seemed difficult at first to integrate them but they are finally in same space together. My issue now is that the two new ones just basically stay away from the big girls so they won't go out into the run with them in the morning and at night, rather than roosting with the rest of them, they roost in the nesting boxes across the room from the roosting bars. I know it's not the best of situations but they are getting along like this as of now. Part of the trouble is that my older girls are just now starting to lay and I basically am cleaning out one nesting box each morning so it's clean for the older girls to use for what the boxes are meant to be used for. Any suggestions!! Thank you again!

 

[AlleysChicks]

Block them off at night before they can sleep in there. They will look elsewhere for a spot. Reopen the boxes in the morning.

 

[BantyChooks]

Are they built into the coop? If not, I have had success with simply moving them to the other side of the coop and placing a roost in the old location instead.

 

[PirateGirl]

Can you add another roost bar (even if only temporary), a chair, a ladder, a saw horse, something? In addition to blocking the nest boxes at night.

 

[Ridgerunner]

All that sounds really normal. Until your younger two mature enough to force their way into the pecking order they quickly learn to form a sub-flock, hanging in the general areas some of the time but generally avoiding the older ones. If they invade the personal space of the older they will probably get pecked. They don't like that. My pullets generally mature enough to force their way into the pecking order about the time they start laying. You may not have that much longer to wait.

Congratulations on a successful integration. My definition if a successful integration is that no one gets hurt. All that cum ba yah stuff of hanging and roosting together and becoming one tight flock can come later, and will.

I integrate juveniles all the time. To avoid them sleeping in the nests I put up a juvenile roost, lower than the main roosts, horizontally separated a few feet, and still higher than the nests. My juvenile roost is actually over the nests so it is clear that it is higher. You can't see my main roosts, they are over my built-in brooder which is off to the right. I took this photo for a thread where we were discussing how often we clean the coop. As you can see, for me not that often. The top of my nests are droppings boards and the nests stay clean but you might want to think of this photo if you put in a juvenile roost, maybe as a don't do.

Some people move chickens from the nests to the roosts if they catch them sleeping in the nests. This pretty much works best at night if the coop is dark enough so the chickens can't see to go back to the nests though just moving them out of the nests can help. On the rare occasions that I find one sleeping in a nest I just toss hem on the coop floor. It's not as refined and sophisticated as putting them on a roost but it works.

@aart has a system where she locks the nests up before roost time to force them to find somewhere else to sleep. Then when she locks them up at night after dark she opens the nests back up. That way she avoids teaching the ones that want to lay at the crack of dawn to lay somewhere else.

A lot of us face this type of issue with juveniles in the flock. There are different solutions. Now that they have learned to sleep in a nest you will likely have to retrain them, but it is doable as long as they have some other place you can train them to use, even if it is just a chair that won't tip over when they roost on top.

 

[Stockpilejoy]

I added 2 one year old hens months back and recently one started going in the nesting box at night. With further investigation I found that when she attempted to go to roost my 2 six year old hens were pecking at her feet causing her to retreat to lower nesting box After reading on tips here I added dividers since I am not able to add another roost due to limited space. I used old placemats and they worked like a charm...Now all sleep well on roost.

 

[PirateGirl]

I added 2 one year old hens months back and recently one started going in the nesting box at night. With further investigation I found that when she attempted to go to roost my 2 six year old hens were pecking at her feet causing her to retreat to lower nesting box After reading on tips here I added dividers since I am not able to add another roost due to limited space. I used old placemats and they worked like a charm...Now all sleep well on roost. View attachment 1861883

Dividers is a great idea!

 

[Criticalicious]

I use cardboard held up with packing tape for dividers. It's not pretty and it's temporary but it works.

 

[chickenthyme]

Boy thanks everyone!! Guess maybe combining things mentioned above, I could probably use several of your ideas. I did try putting a divider up and of all things, my older girls roosted there and one even on top of the divider.....DUH! So I scrapped that idea and don't know whether I have the room for another roosting bar but I might just block nesting boxes off and guess they could use bar into nesting boxes? Your comments,

Ridgerunner, are very encouraging. Almost felt like after I started trying to integrate new girls that I almost wished I hadn't so maybe there is hope. Actually I'm already feeling better with situation. Just this most recent one was a concern. Such a lot of help so many people are on this forum! Thank you!
PS This is picture of my nesting boxes so the branch in front could maybe be used by two younger chickens while blocking off nesting boxes at night?

 

[Ridgerunner]

How far does that bar stick out? The roost should be about a foot away from a vertical surface.

You are only talking about two chickens and maybe for a month or so. Once they start to lay they should move to the main roosts if you have room. Can you put a roosting bar maybe 2' long sticking out from a wall of the coop. Maybe hang one from the ceiling, think of a trapeze but with wooden hangers so it is fairly stable. I can't see how it is framed or how hard that might be.