Nesting boxes

[triscuit]

we have a chicken that is wanting to sleep at night in one of our laying boxes. Is it ok to let sleep in there or should we move her to roost each night?

 

[calichicken]

we have a chicken that is wanting to sleep at night in one of our laying boxes. Is it ok to let sleep in there or should we move her to roost each night?

I would move her to the roost...since I don't want them sleeping in the nest boxes

 

[aart]

I would move her to the roost...since I don't want them sleeping in the nest boxes

Ditto Dat^^^

Should probably figure out why she is seeping in a nest.

More info about your flock(numbers, ages, integrations),
and your coop/run/roosts/nests(sizes in feet by feet),
would help us help you.

 

[azygous]

Yes, discovering the "why" behind a questionable behavior is the best way to understand it so you may begin to mitigate it.

I have a few would-be nest sleepers. A couple have very timid temperaments and simply aren't thrilled about joining in with the nightly competition for roost spots. They take the easy way out if I forget to block off the nest boxes as a matter of practice.

The other would-be nest sleeper is an aggressive BO who pushes everyone around all day long. She's like the over-sized ten-year old on the playground that overpowers all the smaller kids. (I was one of those smaller kids.) When evening comes, she's always checking to see if I've forgotten to put the gates across the nest boxes. If it slips my mind to do so, guess who's installed herself in one. By the way, this BO always lingers in the nest for an hour after she lays an egg. She just likes to nest sit for some reason.

The bottom line is using the nest for purposes other than egg laying dirties them up, makes for extra work for yourself, and creates bad habits in your chickens that are hard to break if you later decide you don't want dirty, poopy nest boxes.