How to stop sleeping in the next box

[VTRunner]

Hi there,

Our chickens (3) are new to us (3rd day) and new to each other with one year-old coming from one owner and two 7 month olds coming from another. At night the three of them share our two nest boxes to sleep. I've read that it's good to get them out of this habit early, but is 3 days in the new coop to early?

Also, the nesting box is a refuge for the two younger chickens. The 1 year old is definitely in charge and dominates the others. I feel bad kicking them out of the box under such circumstances, but I also don't want them to develop bad habits.

I'd appreciate any recommendations from the group.

Thanks!

 

[lurky]

I think you want to lower the nest box and raise the roost. They normally want to be on the higher option.
Also you could put them up there on the roost at night. I used to do that when i had a few trying to roost on the nest box. I re-trained a few this way. Good Luck

PS. Welcome to BYC

 

[VTRunner]

Thanks for the tip. Tonight I went to check on them just after dusk, and all three were in one laying box. What strange creatures these little guys are!

Anyway, I moved them, one by one, to the roost, and they haven't moved. They're quiet and seem happy. I also put a kickball in one nesting box and a bucket in the other to keep them out for the night. I saw that in an earlier post.

I think you're right about the roost height, though. I missed that tip in my coop research.

Thanks again for the advice.

One more question: Do all newbies get addicted to the chickens immediately or is it just me?

 

[lurky]

I am almost positive it was immediate for all

 

[Heather J]

I had to add another roost because i didn't have enough space for all of my birds (we're in the middle of a lengthy build on a second coop, which i planned to have finished weeks and weeks ago, but am still weeks away from completion. meanwhile the coop we do have is way overcrowded, but the run is oodles big enough, so I just added more roosts and make sure the door is opened as early in the morning as possible--and bust my butt working on the second coop every day as many hours as I can, lol).

Anyway, sorry for the digression, I had half a dozen birds sleeping on the edge of my nesting box every night, but once the new roost was added, I simply moved the birds over to the roost every evening after they go in to bed. One insisted on roosting on the back lip of the box, but since that puts her skinny little rear end between the box and wall, and thus the poop on the ground--and she makes it impossible to move her, I've been leaving her alone. A few days ago I was moving half a dozen birds to the roost, tonight i only had to move one! Yeah! It can take some time, but you can train them to sleep elsewhere.