Keeping peeps from sleeping in nesting boxes

[HarmonyHen]

I have 6 7-wo peeps (welsummer and sspeckled sussex) who have been in the coop for about 10 days. The first week, they were in an enclosure to separate them from my other birds (5 hens and 4 guineas). Since they have had the freedom to leave their enclosure, they have taken to sleeping in my on-the-ground rubbermaid bin nesting boxes (they can't reach the elevated boxes), which keeps my hens from using them (a few prefer the ground boxes to the higher ones). Since the peeps were initially raised in the house in a large rubbermaid bin before going to the big-girl coop, I can see why they like it, however, they are keeping my others from using them and I don't want it to become a habit I have to break later. They are still hesitant to leave the coop and venture into the run.

Any thoughts?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

You could try blocking the nests before dusk and put the chicks on the roost.

 

[newmarch2014]

yep, pop a upsidown cardboard box in the box at bed time, stick them on the roost and then in the morning remove the boxes.

 

[HarmonyHen]

The problem is they are sleeping in there during the day - and the hens want to use the boxes. They are still young and sleep some in the daytime.

 

[becy]

Can you wall off the lower nest boxes and tell those hens to just deal for a little while? So you can stop the habit and let them develop a new habit. Or is it possible to raise the lower nest boxes as a compromise of sorts? Not sure about your set up but can you make them too high for your baby chicks but still lower then the higher boxes for your hens? Or could you attach a front board that is too high for the chicks to get over and into the nest box?