How do you make nesting box curtains?

[Sunny-Side Up]

hi can anyone tell me why you don't want your girls sleeping in the nest boxes, i want mine to sleep in them and they won't. i pick them up at night and put them in and they all jump out and sleep in a heap on the floor, they lay their eggs in there but not sleep.

My main reason is that I don't want them to break eggs. One night last flock I accidentally left eggs in the nesting box and while they were sleeping they broke some. I eventually ended up with an egg eating problem... Also, they poop a ton at night! I'm curious, why do you want yours to sleep in the nesting boxes?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Personally I don't see a need for curtains, other than the cute factor. I even cut in windows in my old nest box for light and ventilation and contrary to the notion that chickens will only lay in a dark secluded box, I've never had an issue with chickens not wanting to use the box or roosting in it.

 

[Wise Woman]

I never used to have curtains either. But in 2012 we moved to our current home and the chickens would not go into the nest boxes in their new coop for some reason. So I put up some curtains and within about an hour, the first chicken went in and laid an egg, so I just left them up. Last year when we built our new coop, I put some up because that is what the older girls had been used to. I doubt they are necessary per say, but sometimes they do help.

 

[aart]

Curtains might make them feel 'safer',
they will only lay where they feel safe,
'privacy' is a human thing.

Might help deter egg eating, tho...they know where those eggs are<nods>,
and it won't cure the cause of a real egg eating problem.

Mostly, I think, curtains are for humans with a desire to decorate.
I made my nests with round entrances, because I like how it looks,
and it may provide some 'coziness'.
I do have a cover in place for when chicks are present (and want to sleep in nests) and it has come in handy other times too, a functional 'shutter', but no curtains.




If you do go for curtains, make sure the material cannot fray into strings of entanglement or catch a toenail and that they are firmly attached with fasteners that cannot be eaten.