I think i need some direction, please

[matheny00]

Ok chicks born 4/2, so about 17 weeks old. I opened the nesting boxes last week, rolled up the material today. Their combs are light red still so I know we have some time. I shifted them to layer feed and have added a calcium feeder.

How does this work? Do they just talk among each other and say "what amazing people we have taking care of us, they gave us a nesting box." Or "look a new place to poo".

Anyway I think you get the question. How does this work?

 

[MROO]

Ok chicks born 4/2, so about 17 weeks old. I opened the nesting boxes last week, rolled up the material today. Their combs are light red still so I know we have some time. I shifted them to layer feed and have added a calcium feeder.

How does this work? Do they just talk among each other and say "what amazing people we have taking care of us, they gave us a nesting box." Or "look a new place to poo".

Anyway I think you get the question. How does this work?

The response to both chicken comments is "Yep!"
It often takes a few weeks for pullets to figure out how this whole "egg laying" thing works. Until they recognize the sensation, their first eggs will likely appear at random places around your coop and run.

You can encourage them to lay in the boxes by adding a fake egg to each box. Use something washable (ceramic/hard plastic,) not wooden. I learned THAT one the hard way! You may want to use an odd color so you can easily tell which ones are fake and which are "real." the pullets won't care.

You'll also want to discourage sleeping in the nest boxes by making sure they have higher spots to roost. Chickens poo while they sleep, and nest boxes are a pain to clean!

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Agree with the fake eggs (we have two per box.)

Also, I know that a lot of people use and love nest pads, which is great. I decided to use hemp just in the nest boxes. Several weeks before laying I would occasionally find one in a nest box, pulling hemp around herself and tucking it in to create a nest. They still do when they’re laying.

I had bought a huge $$$ bag of Eaton hemp, and I’d decided to use pine flakes on the floor of the Nestera coop, so I figured the nest boxes it would be. It’s incredibly easy to sift and clean, although it’s very rare that I need to clean the nest boxes. I just toss the hemp into the run litter once a month and add fresh, just because.

Anyway, all that blather to say that making the nest boxes look and feel different from other spots seems to have made it easy for the girls to figure out what’s what. They’ve never tried to lay anywhere else.

Oh, and put an X with a Sharpie on one end to make it easily distinguished from the real thing. Or just use golf balls or ping pong balls.

 

[matheny00]

The response to both chicken comments is "Yep!"
It often takes a few weeks for pullets to figure out how this whole "egg laying" thing works. Until they recognize the sensation, their first eggs will likely appear at random places around your coop and run.

You can encourage them to lay in the boxes by adding a fake egg to each box. Use something washable (ceramic/hard plastic,) not wooden. I learned THAT one the hard way! You may want to use an odd color so you can easily tell which ones are fake and which are "real." the pullets won't care.

You'll also want to discourage sleeping in the nest boxes by making sure they have higher spots to roost. Chickens poo while they sleep, and nest boxes are a pain to clean!

Thank you. Yes the roosts are 4+ feer above the nesting boxes. I'll order some fake eggs.
Again, thank you

 

[Chickenpoonumber2]

Ok chicks born 4/2, so about 17 weeks old. I opened the nesting boxes last week, rolled up the material today. Their combs are light red still so I know we have some time. I shifted them to layer feed and have added a calcium feeder.

How does this work? Do they just talk among each other and say "what amazing people we have taking care of us, they gave us a nesting box." Or "look a new place to poo".

Anyway I think you get the question. How does this work?

Love the privacy curtains!

 

[The Sniper]

In my coop I just stuff the nest boxes with straw and hay and just let the chickens make their own nests.
out of 5 nest boxes 2 are nearly bare, 2 have a bit of straw and hay, and one has plenty and hens lay in all of them, just depends on what kind of nest they like I guess

 

[matheny00]

Love the privacy curtains!

I saw them on the commercial ones. So is it a thing or not?

 

[Chickenpoonumber2]

I saw them on the commercial ones. So is it a thing or not?

I don't know, my ladies aren't laying eggs yet. But I do like them. Maybe someone on here has had nest boxes with and without curtains and knows if the chickens prefer them?

 

[rosemarythyme]

You'll know if they like the set up if as their combs start reddening more, you start catching them messing around in there and kicking out nesting material and fake eggs. Sounds annoying (you can just put the fakes back, I'd sometimes find them shot all the way across the coop lol) but it means they're giving consideration to the nest box by exploring it and assessing how safe it feels.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I like golf balls. Fake eggs sometimes fool ME, haha! I can ID golf balls by feel. And I don't do curtains but they are cute!