My chickens will not go in their nesting box!!

[lowrider suffolk]

I recently put my 6 chickens in their coop. ( For the 1st time ever) I've noticed they will not go up in to their nesting box, they lay on the ground all night. I've even put them in the nesting box when putting them away at night but the just fly out and back on the ground... Any suggestions?!? Am I doing something wrong?!?
Also this is my 1st time owning chickens.
I have 2 ambers 2 leghorns and 2 road island whites ...

Hey Becky,I have had my girls for almost a year now. I know what you mean about them not going into the coop.The nesting box is inside the larger coop.and separated.What I did was put a light inside the coop and at dusk physically place them into the coop and close the door so they cannot come out. make sure food and water are in the coop available to them.I even used meal worms to reinforce . put the light on a timer so it goes out about 30 minutes after you coop them in a few days you will notice they are putting themselves to bed. then you go out and close their door. Them you can get an automatic door so it opens at sunrise and closes 30 minutes after sunset. BEST investment I made.I hated going out early to open the door then to close it at night. Anyway that's it hope that it helps you.

 

[CindyinSD]

I recently put my 6 chickens in their coop. ( For the 1st time ever) I've noticed they will not go up in to their nesting box, they lay on the ground all night. I've even put them in the nesting box when putting them away at night but the just fly out and back on the ground... Any suggestions?!? Am I doing something wrong?!?
Also this is my 1st time owning chickens.
I have 2 ambers 2 leghorns and 2 road island whites ...

Your chickens are very young (8 wks you said if I remember?) They likely have another set of flight feathers in them before reaching maturity. They go through what I call “baby molts” and I don’t know the timing of those. It seems to me more like a continuous process until they reach full size. I would not cut the flight feathers again. If the girls start to cause problems (which they probably won’t), then cut the feathers on one wing as a last resort. Your girls are more vulnerable to predators without flight. Even though they only fly in short hops (as a rule), that little bit could land them in a safer place like a nice high roost.

The roosts should be higher than the nesting boxes. This makes the birds desire the roosts more than the boxes because of greater safety. I had a runt (who died recently) who preferred to sleep in a box to avoid being picked on. I let her. I have plenty of nesting boxes. It was her box. No one used it for laying anyway and I would flip out the few poopies she left there when I brought them their breakfast and let them out. That said, it’s better for everyone if they don’t sleep in the boxes. They’re not lying in their poop at night; they’re roosting (which is their natural behavior); and the eggs are cleaner.

Eggshells are porous. This is why it’s preferable to exclude poopy eggs when selecting eggs for hatching. Bacteria can get inside through the eggshells. That said, the tiny bit that may get in is unlikely to harm a person of normal health—especially assuming the eggs will be cooked. Nevertheless it’s a good idea to do what you can to keep your eggs as clean as possible.

My growing babies jump up to the roosts pretty young—around 4 wks I guess (and the roosts in the grow-out coop are fairly high—4-6’, and they prefer the 6’ ones. Even with flight feathers cut, I don’t think your girls will be unable to reach a reasonably placed roost. You just need to give them time.

One thing, though... if the coop is really cramped they may not want to risk going for the roosts for fear of running into something. The commercial coops you generally get from TSC, etc. (at ridiculous prices, imo) are awfully tight.

Good luck with your girls... let us know how you get on.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

I recently put my 6 chickens in their coop. ( For the 1st time ever) I've noticed they will not go up in to their nesting box, they lay on the ground all night. I've even put them in the nesting box when putting them away at night but the just fly out and back on the ground... Any suggestions?!? Am I doing something wrong?!?
Also this is my 1st time owning chickens.
I have 2 ambers 2 leghorns and 2 road island whites ...

You don’t want them to sleep in the nesting boxes. If I was you I would put up a little roost. Do they have a roost?

 

[SurferchickinSB]

I guess I have respectful girls because they really don't poop in the box much at all,but I clean it anyway. If your afraid of poop,you shouldn't have chickens in the first place.

I hate poop! I don’t want to eat the eggs that get any kind of poop on them.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

It sounds nuts but they don't poop were the sleep or lay,the poop always seems to be more towards the entrance like they know not to poop were they lay to sleep

Wow, that’s pretty amazing! My girls have loads of poop underneath the roosts every morning!

 

[ellend]

I have a light on a timer inside my raised coop, set to turn off an hour AFTER dark. They always go in toward the light when it gets dim, and that also gives them a bit of additional in-coop time to eat.