Girls started to sleep/pool in the nest boxes!

[PoultryGirly]

I have a duck coop with 3 nesting boxes in it and each of my 3 ducks gets their own box at night!

 

[20736]

If they are not laying you could nail a board over the nest entrances until you start to find eggs on the floor.
That should give them time to learn to sleep on the roosts.

 

[egghound]

Well, since they slept in the nest boxes again last night I decided to try putting a board in front of the boxes today. So, tonight they're going to have a bit of surprise when they go into the coop and try to jump in! I'm also planning to check on them at 9:00 tonight when my timer light turns off and if they are still on the coop floor to pick them up and put them on the roosts. I know one of the girls is pretty close to start laying too.

 

[kdwag]

Thanks for the great comments! From all I've read in this thread and others it seems its not a real big deal other than the pooping in the nest boxes which I don't like but can deal with it since I clean daily.

I checked the boxes last night at 9:00 when the coop light timer goes off and two of them had squeezed in one box and one in the other. The fat one (fat Annie!) was sitting on the perch in front of the box!

I picked them all up and put them on the roost and they all spent the night happily up there! I guess I'm not worried anymore if they want to sleep in the boxes. At least I know they'll probably use them when they get ready to lay. My wife thinks the one that started this (RIR) is probably a little broody. They always mimic what one of them does! anyway, as long as occasional (or more often) sleeping in the boxes is not a problem then that's fine. They're all good girls and get along great. Who knows what goes thru their little heads! I think hopefully they're getting pretty close to supplying our breakfast and cake ingredients!

Funny, is your Fat Annie the RIR? I laugh because my RIR is by far the largest of the flock and I call her my "big girl" Lucy. LOL They would roost on front of their nest boxes too. Don't sweat it, they'll figure it out. I don't remember when they stopped doing it.

 

[big faulky]

My chicks did the same. By the time they started laying all were sleeping on the roost. They figure it out.
Cole

 

[egghound]

Funny, is your Fat Annie the RIR? I laugh because my RIR is by far the largest of the flock and I call her my "big girl" Lucy. LOL They would roost on front of their nest boxes too. Don't sweat it, they'll figure it out. I don't remember when they stopped doing it.

My Fat Annie is a Buff Orpington. Sweetest girl. will be laying any day now. The RIR is Daisy. She is kind of shy and nervous, But often when I'm sitting in the yard she jumps up on the bench next to me. As long as I don't make any sudden moves she sits there looking at me!

 

[egghound]

I've been blocking the nest boxes for the past three nights and they spent the entire nights on the roosts. I'm going to do it for a few more days and see if they'll learn and go back to their old ways!

 

[LoveChickens123]

they might be broody

 

[chickadee2]

Since our chickens begin laying before I arrive for the daily cleaning service, this is a problem. We have been dealing with it in different ways. We put up a little door that keeps the nest box closed to the chickens. I close this right before the chickens go in the house for the night at sun set. Then I have to go out and open the door after they are all settled for the night. This has become a nuisance. We were out of town for 4 days and one of the two culprits started sleeping in the nesting area again. Last night (did not close doors), I lifted her out of the nest box and put her on the perch. She stayed put.

Interestingly enough, the two culprits are: 1) Kate, is the bottom of the pecking order and picked on by a silver laced Wynadotte and 2) Star, an Ameracana that always tried to go under the other hens in the manner of a baby chick under the mother hen. Only the #1 culprit's behavior has not changed and she still wants the nest box. I am getting tired of the problem. Before the nest box problem, Star used to practically knock the other hens off their roost trying to snuggle safely away for the night. Interesting behavior since I picked up the chicks from a breeder when they were 1 day old. She never had a mama chick to snuggle under. I have thought of hanging a feather duster and see if she enjoyed that.

Chickens are always interesting!

6 chickens: 1 Barred Rock, 1 Wynadotte, 2 Ameracanas, 1 Speckled Sussex (Kate) and 1 Salmon Faverolle.

 

[egghound]

Since our chickens begin laying before I arrive for the daily cleaning service, this is a problem. We have been dealing with it in different ways. We put up a little door that keeps the nest box closed to the chickens. I close this right before the chickens go in the house for the night at sun set. Then I have to go out and open the door after they are all settled for the night. This has become a nuisance. We were out of town for 4 days and one of the two culprits started sleeping in the nesting area again. Last night (did not close doors), I lifted her out of the nest box and put her on the perch. She stayed put.

Interestingly enough, the two culprits are: 1) Kate, is the bottom of the pecking order and picked on by a silver laced Wynadotte and 2) Star, an Ameracana that always tried to go under the other hens in the manner of a baby chick under the mother hen. Only the #1 culprit's behavior has not changed and she still wants the nest box. I am getting tired of the problem. Before the nest box problem, Star used to practically knock the other hens off their roost trying to snuggle safely away for the night. Interesting behavior since I picked up the chicks from a breeder when they were 1 day old. She never had a mama chick to snuggle under. I have thought of hanging a feather duster and see if she enjoyed that.

Chickens are always interesting!

6 chickens: 1 Barred Rock, 1 Wynadotte, 2 Ameracanas, 1 Speckled Sussex (Kate) and 1 Salmon Faverolle.

chikadee2, my experiences and outcomes have been exactly as yours? Tried blocking the boxes and they would sleep on the roosts. As soon as I stopped, they would go back to the boxes. I know which one is the instigator (the RIR) and they rest of them all follow her example. They know how to sleep on the roosts and have always done so and still some or all occasionally do, but not always. I don;t like cleaning the boxes daily but have no choice.

I finally took the advice of some folks on this list and decided not to get too worked up over it and let them sort it out eventually (hopefully!). One of the girls is laying now but the others haven't started yet so maybe they'll get better a they mature (just like kids do!).