I need nesting box and perch help!

[MamaOwl]

So I made the mistake of leaving the shelves I intended to put the nesting boxes on without the nest boxes for too long (my one year old has not been giving me the time I need to finish the coop haha.) I thought that since my chickens were babies they wouldn't jump high enough to perch on the shelves. Well, I was very wrong. All of my chickens now perch on the shelves every night. I recently hung new perches but they don't seem interested in them at night and have continued to sleep on the shelves. Should I just place the nest boxes on the shelf and hope that they switch to the perches or should I change plans and hang the nest boxes elsewhere? Is it ok for them to sleep on the shelves? They are wire shelves that you would put into a closet. I don't want them to get hurt though they seem quite comfy all snuggled together. I feel stupid for getting myself into this situation and now I'm not sure what to do from here. Also I don't want the chickens to start sleeping in the nest boxes! How do I avoid that? Thanks!

 

[TalkALittle]

Hang the nest boxes but stuff something in them so the birds can't get into them. Hopefully they have sloped tops so it's uncomfortable to try and perch on them. Your birds will look for a more convenient and comfortable roosting spots. Make sure they can reach the roost. Install a ramp if needed. If they insist on trying to roost on the nests just move them to the roost. They'll soon catch on.

 

[MamaOwl]

Thanks. The nesting boxes I bought have open tops so I'm not worried about them sitting on top or anything. Will they figure out that that's where they should go to lay their eggs once it's time for that? My older hens are about five months old now so I'm not sure when to unblock the nest boxes. Any ideas? Thanks for your reply Guess it will just take some monitoring for a little while.

 

[henless]

How many chickens do you have? Where are your roosts in relation to your nests?

For now, I would take the top shelf out and leave the bottom shelf covered like you have it. Make sure your roosts are/will be higher than your nests. Chickens will roost on the highest thing in your coop. You may have to go in there at dusk and place your chickens on their roost for a few days until they get the idea of where/what their roost is.

It looks like your shelf is big enough for 2 or 3 nests on it, if so, that should be plenty for the chickens shown. I'd wait a couple of weeks then go ahead and put your nests in. At 5 months, they are getting close to point of lay. Once they have been roosting on their roost, it's doubtful they will go back to roosting on the shelf.

When you have your nests up, you can put ceramic eggs, plastic Easter eggs or golf balls in the nests. This gives them an idea of what the nests are for. If you do decide to put nests on the top shelf, make sure it is lower than your roosts. Even if the nests have no roof, the chickens will sit in the nest at night and poop all in it if they are higher than your roosts.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I counted ten hens. Is that right? You only need one nest for every four hens if the nests are about 12” x 12”, one for five hens if the nests are a little larger, say 16”. For ten hens, I’d suggest three nests but you don’t need more unless you add more hens.

Henless gave pretty good advice. I don’t know what your roosts look like but they need to be higher than anything else you don’t want them sleeping on or in, like the nests because no one enjoys poopy eggs. The best materials to use are generally tree branches or 2x4’s with either the narrow or wide side up. For winter I suggest wood. It’s better for their feet than metal or many other materials since it does not transmit heat very well. Wood will keep their feet warmer than metal when it is really cold. In the summer that doesn’t matter.

You have to be careful with them sleeping on wire too. Your metal shelves are fine, especially if they are plastic covered, but when wire is made it sometimes has sharp jags of metal or galvanizing that can hurt their feet. You need to check the wire to make sure the side they are sleeping in is smooth. I’m just mentioning that for other people’s benefit. Your shelves are fine. Lots of chickens are raised on wire.

Since yours are in the habit of sleeping on that shelf, they may not want to immediately switch to the new higher roosts and may sleep in your nests. Chickens are creatures of habit and can be pretty stubborn sometimes. After they are settled in for the night and it is pretty dark, you may need to move them to the new roosts. It needs to be dark so they can’t see that well to go back to the shelf. Taking that top shelf down completely would be a good idea while they make that transition to the roosts.

I would open the nests a couple of days after they are used to sleeping on the roosts if none are laying yet. If that older hen is laying she really needs a nest to lay in. In any case you want the nests open when they start to lay. A pullet just starting to lay may accidentally drop her first few eggs about anywhere, but as soon as she gains control of that process, where she lays her first controlled egg is where she wants to make her nest. Many pullets get that right to start with and control the first egg. As I said they are creatures of habit. If they get in the habit of laying somewhere other than your nests they can be pretty stubborn about switching.

Good luck. You should have fun with those. Looks like you even have a naked neck (Turken).

 

[MamaOwl]

Thanks so much for all the suggestions everyone! I think this weekend I'll go out at night and move them to the roosts. I'll take down the shelves maybe on Monday and put them back up with the next boxes on them. The roosts are next to where I'm standing for the picture, about 8 feet away from the shelves. They are made from old logs from a tree we had to cut down a few years ago; they have a swing made from a larger branch outside and they love it. They have been on the roosts in the coop during the day, just sitting and checking things out. They have infrared lights for the winter and the coop stays pretty warm during the cooler months so I'm not too concerned about them getting cold feet. I also have poop hammocks for under the roosts to keep everything clean and I'll be doing a big clean out and scrub this weekend since the temperatures are starting to climb. The roosts are slightly higher than the nest boxes will be but maybe when I reinstall everything I'll put the shelves a bit lower and the perches a bit higher. I'll have eight next boxes, I'm considering doing four more. Do you think that 8 will be enough for 21 hens? I feel like 12 would be better, but is that overkill? The shelves are powder coated and I've checked thoroughly for sharp edges before I installed them. I used to work at a wild bird rescue in Alaska so I know all about the effects of bumble foot and all of that fun stuff that birds can struggle with, my knowledge of chickens is slowly getting there (I think haha.) Thanks again for all the help! I had chickens a few years ago but had a very different set up. I wanted to make sure my girls were extra spoiled this time and do everything 'right'.

Ridgerunner: I do have 4 Turkens! I love them! I call them my little dinosaurs My other big girls are Bantam Cochins (3 pretty girls and 3 Roosters,) and 2 Rhode Island Reds. My little girls range from 1-2 months old and I have Americana's, Black Sex Links, and Speckled Sussex. I decided to go with a wide variety of breeds this time and I'm loving it

Here's a picture of all my big girls and roosters on their swing and 'tree' that I built from an old stump and branches haha. They love to snuggle together. And sorry for the mess in the background! 'Cluckingham Palace' is still a work in progress