How to prevent sleeping/pooping in the nest boxes??

[lurky]

The birds will always go to the highest place they can get to to roost. So they will continue to do this if the nest boxes are higher than the roost. Blocking the nest box wont help as they will do it again when you unblock them if thats the highest place.
Each standard hen is supposed to have 4 sq ft of indoor space, so maybe you can find a way to add on to give them more room and make a higher roost all at the same time

 

[Judy]

That coop is big enough for two big chickens, no more, so you are right about the size, and you are right that they will feel even more crowded if you close off the nests. The best solution is a new coop, at least 24 sq ft, with a roost higher than the nests (you need two.) A run about twice the size of what you have would also be more optimal.

If you build something like this, you will probably have to place them on the roosts at night for a while til they learn to sleep there.

 

[citrusdreams]

Mine chickens sleep all over the henhouse. Some sleep on the roosts, some in the rafters, some sleep on the top of the door to their henhouse (I leave it open 24/7, but before I get flogged, the entrance to the henhouse leads into a well secured pen, which is closed at night) and some *used* to sleep in the nests when they were younger, but no one sleeps in them now.

I'd just do as others have suggested: make a multilevel roost like a ladder (mine like the top three levels), clean out the nests real well, and block if off if you don't want them in there until they're old enough to lay.

I know a lot of people have problems with their pullets sleeping in the nests, even snuggling up with friends, but mine just stopped sleeping in there on their own.

 

[Anoure]

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I am all for a new coop but we paid over $300 for this one. Anyone have any ideas where I could get a bigger one for cheap? What do you use for your chickens? Send some pics if you have something.
My husband has made this coop and its attached outdoor run into a "chicken tractor" that we move around.
Maybe I just got too many chickens. Maybe I should have gotten only 3 or so. However, it was advertised as holding 12!
I think they say that not on square footage but because there are 3 nest boxes and they say 4 chickens per nest box. Anyway, it's not enough room but I am not sure what else we could do. My husband is handy that isn't a problem. He could build a new one but it is going to cost more money and we spent alot on this coop already.
If any of you have plans or pics or drawings of a coop that we could build that would suit 6 chickens and is more like a chicken tractor, please post them!