Nest Box Maintenance

[AbbeLange]

How often do you clean your nestboxes?
Hens tend to get infections of the oviduct from dirty nestboxes. Simply picking out the manure/urates when you pick up the eggs (or at least every few days when the birds are not laying) is a good practice, along with adding a handful of fresh shavings in each box. I also clean out all the litter in the box every week or so, and replace it with fresh shavings.

 

[aart]

A better practice is to not let them sleep(and poop) in the nests at all.
I only have completely changed out the nest bedding(I use straw) when an egg breaks in the nest. Occasional poops are just tossed out on the coop floor. Hasn't seemed to cause oviduct infections here.

 

[NanaK]

If I find a hen in a nest box at close up time, I just put her on the roost. They seem to get the message after a few days. If they continue I look for other reasons as the cause. Bullying, sickness, etc. The only time I will let one sleep there is if they are having a bad molt. Sometimes birds will pluck pin feathers, so I allow them to sleep there only then.

It's rare to find poop in their nests. If I do see it, I just put it in the compost bucket.
Never had an oviduct infection in a hen.

 

[rosemarythyme]

The only hen I've allowed to sleep in a nest was elderly and unable to get up on the roost. She has since passed. She was restricted to a single nest box with no fake eggs to sleep in, which I filled with hemp so I could easily sift out poop.

Otherwise I clean out nests once a year. If they're not allowed to sleep in them, there's no need to clean them out with any frequency.

 

[wrathsfarm]

If I find a hen in a nest box at close up time, I just put her on the roost. They seem to get the message after a few days. If they continue I look for other reasons as the cause. Bullying, sickness, etc. The only time I will let one sleep there is if they are having a bad molt. Sometimes birds will pluck pin feathers, so I allow them to sleep there only then.

It's rare to find poop in their nests. If I do see it, I just put it in the compost bucket.
Never had an oviduct infection in a hen.

This is about the same for me.

Ironically had 2 head hens from both flocks sleeping in their respective nest boxes during their last hard molt. That's a pass for me.
I change out nest boxes roughly once a month usually when their bedding on coop floor/ poop boards starts to get a little light or a broke egg happens.

 

[Debbie292d]

A better practice is to not let them sleep(and poop) in the nests at all.
I only have completely changed out the nest bedding(I use straw) when an egg breaks in the nest. Occasional poops are just tossed out on the coop floor. Hasn't seemed to cause oviduct infections here.

I wish! Out of 14 silkies, about 1/3 sleep in the nest boxes. We didn't realize they would do this so hubby made a giant nest box for them and now most huddle up in there together. I put horse bedding pellets in there and just stir them once a week or so with a stick.

 

[21hens-incharge]

I also do not allow them to sleep in the nests.
Broken eggs means I am cleaning that box. Most of the time I just need to add a bit more shavings from them scratching it out.

I have never had a hen get an oviduct infection either.