Keeping chickens from sleeping in nest box

[chick-egger]

Hello I have two chickens they both seem to want to sleep in the nesting bo
Not on the roost does this mean my coop is to small
It came from Murdochs like tractor supply here in Colorado
It's the coops and feathers superior gen house
Any ideas thanks

 

[thomasboyle]

It could mean it is too small, or it could mean there is a draft on the perch, the perch is lower than the nesting box, or a dozen other unrelated things. I have 12 chickens and 1 rooster, and 30 feet of roosting perches. I still have 2 chickens that like to sleep in two of my nesting boxes. It could be as simple as they prefer a hay bed to sleep in!

 

[sccoterny]

I have 2 that sleep in the nesting boxes, i have tried everything, so i gave up and just built a few more boxes. Surprisingly all of my chickens only lay in 2 boxes and one, for 5 months now, leaves me an egg every day on the floor in the same corner of the coop. The only thing i heard that works is covering up the boxes with mesh at night so they have no choice, then un cover every morning till they get the hang of sleeping somwhere else. Gl

 

[chick-egger]

Thank you so much it has three nesting boxes they only use one
For sleeping and the others they leave eggs
Thanks for the info

 

[pinkandrews]

I had that problem too. It was also because I had too many nesting boxes per hen. I closed off a lot of the boxes and only left two open.
I was yelled at (by the hens) the first few mornings, but then they got the hang of the roosting bars. Cleaning became a lot easier.

 

[Edward Charette]

Why not place the little ones out from the bixes and place along with the roosts after dusk. Block the boxes just before dusk

 

[chick-egger]

Update my chickens are mad at me for covering their
Nest boxes at night they quit laying probably cause of
Cold weather here in Colorado is colder at night now
Put a door on front of coop to help with drafts but now hens cluck half the night
Cause they can't get to their boxes any ideas thanks
Can't load photos from my phone and that's all I have at moment

 

[sccoterny]

I added more Chickens and once they calmed after a few days stopped roosting on the boxes. I must have had too many before. Whenever I change stuff they get moody for a few days but then Mellow out

 

[Howard E]

Update my chickens are mad at me for covering their
Nest boxes at night they quit laying probably cause of
Cold weather here in Colorado is colder at night now
Put a door on front of coop to help with drafts but now hens cluck half the night
Cause they can't get to their boxes any ideas thanks
Can't load photos from my phone and that's all I have at moment

Can you post a photo of your coop and interior setup? The #1 universal almost always is the case reason birds roost in or on the nest boxes is they are higher than the roost. It is also possible the configuration of how they were installed was wrong.

When design factors get out of whack re: what the birds want or prefer, they often vote with their feet. They won't use them as expected. When you see them do something out of the ordinary or what is expected, best plan is find out why.

 

[pinkandrews]

I added more Chickens and once they calmed after a few days stopped roosting on the boxes. I must have had too many before. Whenever I change stuff they get moody for a few days but then Mellow out

I moved the nesting boxes and yes, I got yelled at today. Thankfully they still laid.