when would be the right time to introduce the nesting box? i want them to use it, not roost in it. They are 13 weeks now. Is it the right time?
it still might be a bit early. They won't start laying probably until 20-25 weeks. Also, be sure to put their roost higher than the nest box. they will try to roost at the highest place. I had some hens try to sleep in the nest boxes. I covered the nest boxes at the end of the day so they couldn't get in there. After a few days of this they started going to the roosts rather than then nest box.
Hi girls n guys, I'm new To the site. I just recently dealt with this same befudlment. I have 3 buff orp hens and 3 barred rock hens. It took longer than I expected for my girls to roost instead of sleep all crammed in their nesting boxes. But they all seemed to "grow up and out of it" at the same time. They progressed from sleeping IN the box to On the box to above the box. I put a heftier top on my boxes and they enjoy the space to tuck in for the night. Some just take longer than others to at normal.
