Nesting boxes

[aart]

If you find you do need to cover the nests, for this time and if you add chicks down the road, a hinged cover might be worth your while.

I hacked together a permanent hinged cover that easy to use and always ready to go if I need it. I close it an hour or so before roost time, then uncover when I lock up after dark.

 

[Ridgerunner]

When I built my nests I made a couple so I could lock a chicken in an individual nest if I wanted to. It has nothing to do with blocking the nests to keep them from sleeping in them but that added flexibility has come in handy several times for different things. Sorting chicks in my brooder, training a hen to lay in the nest instead of on the coop floor, locking a pullet in until she lays so I can evaluate which egg she is laying, or just hold a chicken temporarily. I'm a strong believer in flexibility and suggest if you set something up to block a nest that you do it in a way so it is an individual nest, not several of them. It's just more flexible. How you do it is not important, that's just a detail. I use guillotine type doors but hinges or even something else can work really well.