Hens sleeping in nest boxes, need suggestions

[patman75]

I made a Catawba chicken tractor for my 4 hens. It has worked out pretty good so far. Last week I opened up the nest boxes because they were 18 weeks old. I checked on them the other night and 3 of them were jammed inside one of the nest boxes with the 4th right next to them. 2 of the hens have started laying eggs, 1 is laying in the nest box that they are sleeping in.

How can I stop them from sleeping in the nest box and get them to use the roost again? I really dont want them sleeping in the nest box because they are popping in it.

I was thinking of blocking the nest box that they are sleeping in and hope they don't go sleep in the other nest box.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!!

 

[MIKE555444]

Normally they will roost at the highest point which is by nature the safest. If you can get the roost higher they will most likely prefer it to the nest

 

[Uppity Peon]

If they have never slept perched on a 2x4 before you may need to lift them up onto the roost a few nights and close off access to the nesting box. But it should not take long for them to prefer the roost.

 

[patman75]

There is a 2x2 roost between the 2 nest boxes. They had been using the roost for about 9 weeks since I put them in chicken tractor.

Here are pictures of what the coop looks like.
http://catawbacoops.com/the-catawba-converticoop-chicken-coop-image-gallery.html

There isn't a whole lot of room to elevate the roost any higher, maybe a few inches.

Would making the roost 4x4 make any difference?

 

[MIKE555444]

A few inches might make a difference. I don't know if a 4 x 4 would matter. I think they are all about sleeping at the highest point. If they are the same then they may alway choose diferent spots to roost from now on.

 

[fhdogs]

Are your hens laying yet? If not I'd recommend blocking the nest boxes with some scrap wood or even hardware cloth for the time being. Hopefully you'll be ale to break them of the habit.

I only have one laying so far, and the younger pullets were sleeping in the nest boxes. I blocked all but one box off for a week, and each night I'd move whatever pullets that were in the box onto a roost. After that week I never see the young ones in the nest boxes, and the covers are off.

I do however have four that prefer to sleep on the floor in the corner.

 

[patman75]

I had both nest boxes blocked until last week.

My White Leghorn has layed 3 eggs in the nest box that they are sleeping in. I pretty sure my Isa Brown in laying eggs in the other nest box. My Buff Orphington and Silver Laced Wyandotte are not laying yet.

 

[patman75]

Check that...make that 3 eggs from the Isa Brown in the other nest box. Good girl

 

[fhdogs]

Well I guess that defeats my idea. Unless you can block them only at night. (Then you'd have to be up real early to unblock them in the AM) That would never work for me.

 

[cmom]

My birds were sleeping in the nest boxes. I put milk crates in the nest boxes in the evenings and took them out in the mornings for a week. It seems to have worked. I did it with my hens and with my pullets. Also I put a golf ball in each nest box. I also made sure the roosts are higher than the nest boxes. The birds tend to go to the highest spot to roost. My original roosts were at the same height as the nest boxes. I have raised it to just above the boxes. It's no fun when they get used to sleeping in the nest boxes and then you reach in and get poopy eggs. This happened to me in the beginning. I thought it was cute. I finally got tired of cleaning the poopy eggs and the poop out of the nest boxes..