Hens pooping in nest box

[PotassiumJunkie]

I have a coop with two nest boxes on each side.

Ever since I’ve got my two they both cram themselves into the same nest box every night and sleep here, lay here, poop here.

This causes an issue because their bum feathers get dirty and I have to cut/wash them frequently, and also I often have to throw away eggs because they get dirty. I clean the nest box daily but, god chickens poop a lot!!

I honestly don’t think they spend any time in the main part of the coop or the other nest box because these areas are always so clean....what can I do to fix this problem and have clean hen bums and eggs????

 

[TomZilla43]

Hmm,1st question in regards to your coop? Are the roosts higher than the nest boxes? Chickens will typically roost at the highest reasonable(sometimes unreasonable spot). Honestly if you could post some pics of your coop it might help in understanding what the problem is....

 

[PotassiumJunkie]

This is the coop on Amazon. No the roosting perches are actually a tiny bit lower than the nest boxes. They have a small step up into the nest boxes

 

[chicken_lover_20]

ok

 

[chicken_lover_20]

i would locking them out of the coop so they can get better at living out side of it.

 

[chicken_lover_20]

normaly when i get a new coop i would lock the old one up so they can get used to the new one and it works like a charm.

 

[chicken_lover_20]

another concern is were do you put there food and water?

 

[BY Bob]

To get them from sleeping in the nesting boxes you are going go have to start by providing roosts that are higher than the nesting box. Photos of the inside of the coop would help. Can you do something like adding a another roost yourself?

 

[DobieLover]

Such is life with a poorly designed prefab coop.
I would modify the coop as follows:

Install a roosting bar centered over the nest boxes as shown by the red line.
Install gable vents on both ends of the coop as shown by the green "mesh". Install 1/2" HC over these openings on the inside using screws and washers. The tiny sliding doors will blow across the roost during winter and you don't want that. But that will be a nice feature during hot summers.
I would also start looking through the coop article section of this site for a larger coop that you could build that will be easier to work with.
You are going to have to retrain your hens to use the roost bar.
I have a batch of 17 week old cockerels and a pullet that still try to sleep in the nest boxes because they haven't grown confident enough to handle the hens, rooster and older cockerel and pullets. So every night at lock down and head count, I wait until full on dark and remove them from the boxes and place them on the roosts. There is minimal fuss from the occupants because it is too dark to see to do any real pecking and everyone typically stays where they are. No one returns to the nest boxes.

 

[Callender Girl]

In one of my coops, (the one in my avatar) there are two roosts -- both higher than the nest boxes and used during the day, at least. However, at night as many as three of the six pullets will cram into one nest box to sleep. The good news for me is that they always choose the nest box on the south end of the coop; all egg-laying is done in the box at the north end of the coop, in the box the farthest away from the "sleeping" box. I've no idea why.