Help: Hens roosting in nest boxes

[aart]

Has anyone else tried it since?

Yes, more than a few...can't remember just who, but I reference this modification all the time.

 

[ChasesChickens]

I have a similar prefab and did the same with adding higher roosting bars. But I also took the nesting box door off....made my own external nesting boxes to make more room inside and re-used the nesting box door! I also made two extended rooflines over the windows so they could stay open all the time with our Florida heat and keep rain out. I should have just built my own coop! Lol

Hi @Scissors65

By any chance do you hace pics of your modification?

 

[aart]

Hi @Scissors65

By any chance do you hace pics of your modification?

Read thru the whole thread, they are in there.

 

[GHagler]

I have a similar prefab and did the same with adding higher roosting bars. But I also took the nesting box door off....made my own external nesting boxes to make more room inside and re-used the nesting box door! I also made two extended rooflines over the windows so they could stay open all the time with our Florida heat and keep rain out. I should have just built my own coop! Lol

Great idea thanks! Would love to see pictures. I see
fightingbunny's modification pics but don't see Scissors65's.

 

[Big Doggie]

My coop has a non-ideal interior layout and the hens are roosting in the nesting area. I am very new to having chickens and my chickens are very young, 3 months old. I would like to change the interior of the coop now before there are eggs in order to keep them cleaner. I can not build a new coop or make any extreme changes to it this year. Is there an easy solution to help the chickens want to roost on the bars and not in the nests? It looks to me that the roosting bars are at the same level to the boxes and this is why they are going there. I am not sure how to change that though, as the front door prevents me attaching them higher. There is a tray that pulls out below the bars, so I can not mount the bars to the floor either!

Thank you for any help!!
Jennifer (and Princess Butterfly, Princess Melody, Prince Argos, Thelma, Louise, and Teenie)

Simple. Staple cardboard on top and in front of the nesting boxes. They’ll never figure out how to get past this barrier.

 

[aart]

but don't see Scissors65's

Can't find them either, thought they were there before.
Hey @Scissors65 got pic of you prefab mod?

 

[Judy Todd]

View attachment 1221187


You might try using milk crates as nest boxes ( similar to the photo of my coop). I have a 4"board zip tied in place to keep the eggs from rolling out (not shown).
Filling a empty feed bag with grass or hay and stuffing it in nest box to keep them from roosting there until they are ready to lay might help your problem once you get milk crates in place.

For years I have been lining my nest boxes with the folded empty nylon mesh feed bags.

Chickens poop in nest boxes get used to it.

When a bag gets soiled pop out the soiled and pop in another. Poop just peels off in below freezing temperatures and just flakes off when left out in the sun to bake and dry. It is the best method I have stumbled upon in my 67 trips around the sun.

Oh! Remove the excess string from the open end of the bag it can get tangled in your birds legs and wings.
Easy Peasy Japaneasy.

OMG, that is the bst idea I have seen in ages. We sure all have plenty of feed bags. I, also, staple then to the wall for a bit of insulation, looks pretty also, use the pink ones. My girls (26 in number) , like pink. Caught chicken math virus.!!!

 

[Liz Birdlover]

It's a fun live & learn creative improvement process! This is in my 2nd coop, designed the nest egg boxes with a sloped top, cute but mainly functional keeping them from pooping & perching on it. A simple 2x4 across bottom front face keeps their box cushy, they never mess up or poop in those wood chips, after 1 year of use those boxes have proven to work great. They range from 13x13 to 15x15 inches depending on size & breed of hens per section. I used to have 4 boxes for 8 hens in old coop design & they only used the same 2 boxes over & over, so I revised the design, just 2 boxes, then the empty space that created now offers a flock block to peck.

I know they really like their egg boxes because every egg laid is in a proper egg box, nice & clean.

I made something outside & this was sort of an experiment, I figured these could multi function as a step for them leaving the coop, a seat for me when I sit & visit & another spot to hide out in shade to dustbathe if the gazebo is too crowded. I was afraid someone may decide to lay eggs in there, & if so I'd just spin it around so they can't go in, but so far they all lay inside the coop in the egg boxes! They've used the space under the step just as intended. I will always glance in there, just in case. So far so good.

 

[Judy Todd]

We just catch the chicken after it has settled in for the night and then place it on the roost bar, When it wakes up in the morning it thinks it belongs there. They will not move around in the dark by themselves. We have had a few stubborn ones that it took a couple of nights to get them settled on the roost bar. They can't see at night. Just what works for us,

Yes, that is how I add new chickens also, just move them after dark. Set them on a roost that you have ready for them. They wake up and magic, no fights, no dirty nest boxes. It is magic.

 

[aart]

They wake up and magic, no fights, no dirty nest boxes. It is magic.

'Magic' when it works, disastrous when it doesn't.....have seen both happen.