Nesting Box Question

[LoveMyPeepers]

Hey everyone!
Hopefully in the near future we will be building a new coop and I am trying to get ideas on some different ways to block chickens from sleeping in the nesting boxes. In our coop the nesting boxes are connected to the coop, so to access the nesting boxes they have to pass through the coop first, but the hens keep sleeping in the nesting boxes and pooping in them, which make the nesting boxes need to be cleaned very often. Does anyone have a way that they block the hens off form the nesting boxes during night time to train the hens to perch. I can attach pics of the coop and nesting boxes later.

 

[redinator]

Hey everyone!
Hopefully in the near future we will be building a new coop and I am trying to get ideas on some different ways to block chickens from sleeping in the nesting boxes. In our coop the nesting boxes are connected to the coop, so to access the nesting boxes they have to pass through the coop first, but the hens keep sleeping in the nesting boxes and pooping in them, which make the nesting boxes need to be cleaned very often. Does anyone have a way that they block the hens off form the nesting boxes during night time to train the hens to perch. I can attach pics of the coop and nesting boxes later.

Mine slept in them when they were younger and not allowed to roost with the older ones. Once they started laying they'd sleep on top of it or on the perches, but not in them.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Do you have a picture of your current setup? Usually chickens will sleep as high as they can so if your roosts are above the nesting boxes they will usually go there unless they’re sick, bullied off the roosts or too young to know better. If the latter, sometimes they will have to be trained to roost either by older hens or by you when they are young. How old are your chickens?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Photos are always good. If the coop is not built yet that might be a problem.

I prefer a simpler solution, train them to sleep other places. As mentioned, most will sleep as high as they can so, as long as the roosts are noticeably higher than the nests, it is not a problem.

They need to be able to get to the roosts. If they have enough room to spread their wings and fly up and down most can manage it. My nests are five feet off of the coop floor and my full-sized fowl (think Delaware, Orpington, Sussex) have no problems flying up there. There are some that have problems though, such as Silkies and other birds that can't fly. Many people provide ramps that they can walk up.

You have to have sufficient roost length for them. How many will you have and how much roost space will you have.

Sometimes you have bullies on the roosts. You can have this in any flock but it is fairly common when some are less mature than others. That's why the age question could be important.

Instead of blocking off the nests I go out at dark and move them where I want them to sleep if they are sleeping where I don't want them to sleep. That's not really true. Most of the time I take them out of the nest and drop them on the coop floor. They'll be OK, my coop is predator proof. I don't really care where they sleep as long as it is not in my nests and is somewhere predator safe.

Definitely tell us more about your problems, we may be able to help. Good luck!

 

[LoveMyPeepers]

Here are the pics of our current coop:

we have some ideas for the future coop, such as being accessible to walk in to, higher perches, and more nesting boxes. The coop we have now was designed for only 6 chickens with a drawer at the bottom that collects the manure for garden fertilizer.

Currently we have 15 hens, 6 of them are 4.5 months and the rest are 3-8 years old. When the "chicks" were younger they slept on top of a brooder we had outside the coop. I removed them onto the perches inside the coop until they got the memo. They still sleep on the floor in the coop(occasionally on the perches), but not in the nesting boxes, but I don't worry about them, they should learn.

As I go outside every night to close up the coop for the night, the setup is usually like this: The "Chicks" sleep on the floor near the door, one hatchery RIR and a older hen that was in need of rehoming sleep on the coop floor, and the other RIR and older hen that was in need of rehoming sleep in the nesting boxes, while the other hens we hatched and raised ourselves sleep on the perches. I don't mind if they sleep on the floor, but I don't want them in the nesting boxes.

Our one bantam frizzle has a very spicy personality, but I've really only ever seen her bully the younger chicks. The two older hens who were gifted to us were probably hatchery chicks and came to us with leg mites and weren't super healthy, but even now they are still a lot heavier than the others and might just want to escape the hassle of climbing.

Phew! That was a lot!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Without measurements I can only eyeball, but it doesn't look like you have enough roost space for 15, so some birds are getting shuffled into the nests because of that.

For the time being you can just slide a sheet of cardboard or plywood over the nests before dusk, and then remove once it's completely dark.