Hens don't go in clean coop...

[WVduckchick]

Agree, very cute coop. Nice of your daughter to let you repurpose it!
I lost a rooster inside my coop and had a hard time convincing the others to go back in, but once they were locked in a couple times, they learned it was safe now. Now I wonder if they don't spend too much time in it! Lol

 

[Blooie]

I think the answer to your question might be found in the sizes and shapes of the wood in your coop. Notice how the branch is relatively small in diameter and close to the wall. Now notice the 2x4 near the window. You say they are roosting on the ledge of the window. Most chickens seem to prefer a 2x4, placed flat side up just like you have it, to roost. They can sit on their feet, don't have to try to sleep while gripping a narrow branch, and they are much more relaxed and comfortable.They also like to be far enough from the wall to be able to stretch out on occasion and flap their wings without feeling like they are going to hit the wall or bump their tail feathers against it.

I think if you were to replace that branch with another 2x4, placed just as the other one by the window is and farther from the wall than the current roost, and raise it up a bit so it's obviously higher than the entrance to the nest boxes, you may be able to solve two issues - they will likely start roosting where you want them to, and use the nests for laying, since they would be then seem a little lower. How high off the floor are the nesting boxes, and is there a way to put another piece of wood in front of them to use as a landing spot for them to enter the nests? Quite often my girls will fly up on the perch in front of the nests and inspect the nests before they go into them. Also the nests seem very and open. Hens prefer cozy darker space to lay. You could probably put a piece of plywood over the top of them, allowing to maintain the slant of the boxes like a little shed roof, and maybe that cover would be enough to entice them. Are they secured to that piece of wood well? If the nests wobble at all when they get into them that can sometimes spook them a little bit. We used those same nest boxes, and until they were covered with a roof, my girls wouldn't even have a thing to do with them. Once we got a little money ahead we switched to those plastic ones that hang on the wall, and we've never looked back. But in the beginning those slanted front wooden ones were what we had, and they did use them pretty well after we darkened the space within them.
These are the same nest boxes you have. We added a little roof with slippery bits of linoleum on it do discourage roosting and pooping on top, and a perch in front of them to make access easier. The little "curtains" you see were actually bits of landscape fabric we had covered them with to keep them from roosting inside the nests before they started laying. Once we found our first egg on the coop floor, we slit the landscape fabric so they could see in but still feel secluded.

Your coop is adorable. I think just those couple of changes would make all the difference in the world. Granted, if they've gotten too used to doing things their way it might take a few times of actually showing them what you want, but I think that since those changes don't change the overall appearance and footprint of your cute coop you might get things going the direction you want.

 

[Percheron chick]

Agree with Blooie. Your nesting boxes are first mounted backwards. The cut out is the door. Cover them with wood or cardboard to make a quiet, dark and inviting place for them to sit. Hens don't like laying in the middle of Grand Central Station.

The roosts need to be 15-18" from the wall for an adult hen.