Nesting boxes and no eggs HELP!

[angela56124]

Hi, I have 9 chickens 4 Buff orpington and 5 Red Stars. And they have been sleeping in the nesting boxes, but That is because i still have to put in another roosting pole( can they stick out of the boxes?)They keep kicked out the straw in the bottom row(3 boxes). And they are 15 weeks old so they havent started layin yet. Please Answer my questions!!!!

 

[cmom]

My birds were sleeping in the nest boxes. I put milk crates in the nest boxes in the evenings and took them out in the mornings for a week. It seems to have worked. I did it with my hens and with my pullets. Also I put a golf ball in each nest box. I also made sure the roosts are higher than the nest boxes. The birds tend to go to the highest spot to roost. My original roosts were at the same height as the nest boxes. I have raised it to just above the boxes. It's no fun when they get used to sleeping in the nest boxes and then you reach in and get poopy eggs. This happened to me in the beginning. I thought it was cute. I finally got tired of cleaning the poopy eggs and the poop out of the nest boxes..

 

[chickenannie]

Many nest boxes come with a bar you can pull down in front of the nest to prevent them from sleeping in there. Yours are developing a habit that you want to break. Make sure you have an accessible, pleasant place for them to roost, and you better put a barrier in front of the nest boxes - even if only at night to keep them out. they like habits and will roost in the same spot each night.