Nesting boxes now or later?

[wifeyschlegel]

When I move my chicks into the coop do I need to have the nesting boxes already in there so they can get used to them(I'm pretty sure I read somewhere they need to be unusable until laying age, if so how do I go about doing that?), or can I add the nesting boxes later when they get to laying age?

 

[chickencheeper]

When I move my chicks into the coop do I need to have the nesting boxes already in there so they can get used to them(I'm pretty sure I read somewhere they need to be unusable until laying age, if so how do I go about doing that?), or can I add the nesting boxes later when they get to laying age?

I added mine when they got to 18 weeks, for them to associate the nest box with their new “feelings”. If you have built in nest boxes than what a lot of people do is they put a sheet over them so the chickens don’t start sleeping in them and developing bad habits. Keep in mind they will probably need(and I doesnt hurt to have some anyway) fake eggs in the nesting boxes for them to see. Fake eggs can be anything from golf balls to ceramic fake eggs you can get off amazon(these work the best in my eggsperience) but keep the fake eggs in the boxes till all of the chickens have laid in them, it may take a few tries for your first hen to lay in the right spot.

 

[jthornton]

Unless you have a large number of pullets one nest box will be fine. The old idea of having a bunch of small nest boxes is not practical because they all want to use the same one. The nest box should be at least 14" tall, 14" deep and as wide as you want for standard size birds. Mine is 36" wide for 9 RIR's. The nest box must be below the roost by 12" or closed off after laying is done for the day. If not the pullets will sleep in the nest box and fill it with poop during the night.

When they start to lay eggs they will look for a place that feels safe to lay the egg. I found my first egg in a 5 gallon bucket 1/3 full of gravel. The nest box can be added at any time. For existing flocks the nest box is there from day one for chicks...

My Roll Out Nest Box Mk3 plans.

JT

 

[Ridgerunner]

You can get all kinds of conflicting advice on this forum so I'll add to the confusion. I want the nests available about a week before they start to lay. That way if there are problems I can fix those problems before I get poopy eggs and I have a better chance of them using the nests instead of learning to lay somewhere else.

When are they going to lay. There are many things people will tell you that are clues they might possibly be ready to lay, but that's all they are, clues they might be ready. I don't rely on those clues but go by age. The earliest I've had a pullet start laying is 16 weeks so that is my absolute deadline to have the nests open. A little earlier will not hurt.

What kinds of problems am I talking about? Often a few days before she starts to lay a pullet starts looking for a safe place to lay her eggs. Often, not always. Egg laying is fairly complicated and sometimes it takes a pullet a few days to get all the kinks out of her system. Some seem to have no control over the egg-laying process and just drop their eggs anywhere. But once they gain control they want a nest. Checking out a place to lay usually involves a lot of scratching. If you find your nest bedding or fake eggs on the coop floor it usually means your nests are not right. You probably need to raise the lip to make it harder for them to scratch stuff out. I prefer to not have real eggs scratched out of the nest and on the coop floor. A lot of the time you can head this off by having the nests open early.

The big reason I see people give for blocking the nests is to keep them from sleeping in the nests. If your roosts are higher than the nests this is hardly ever a problem. It still can be. If your roosts are inadequate in space or you have a roost bully (which happens) one chicken may pick on a lower-ranked chicken so brutally they seek a safer place to sleep. That could easily be your nests. This happens a lot more often when you already have mature chickens and you are adding new chickens, but it can happen with them all the same age.

If your chickens are sleeping in the nests there are reasons for that you need to fix. Even if you keep the nests blocked until you see eggs they can still move to the nests to sleep when you open them. I prefer to fix those things before I get poopy eggs or eggs scratched onto the coop floor.

There is nothing wrong with waiting to install the nests or blocking them off, but I want them available before they start. And as JT mentioned, once you have hens laying the nests are going to be open when you raise your next batch of chicks.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I installed mine about 2 or 3 weeks before my first pullet began laying. So you can put it in "later" but don't wait too long - you want give the birds a little time to get used to the boxes being there.

 

[blackdog043]

Since this is your first chicks going in the coop, the choice is yours, when to add the nest boxes. If you add more chicks later on the nest boxes will already be in there and being used. As long as you have the roosts higher than the nest boxes and enough room for all the birds, you shouldn't have problem with them roosting in the boxes.