Nesting Boxes

[ChamorroChicken]

Is it necessay to keep the nesting boxes off limits to the girls while they are still eight to ten weeks from egg laying? When I built my coop I built it with access to the nesting boxes so that it would give the hens alittle more room. When they go in for the night they all take there place on the roost and I only find them in the boxes on rainy days when theyare in the coop to get out of the rain, other wise they are in the run. I have read in several post about people blocking off the boxes, is this because when they begin to lay they won't use them? any thoughts?

 

[gmendoza]

They will use them,and will poopy in em.

 

[Mommysongbird]

I was wondering if I should remove my nest boxes until it is time to start using them??

Are your's removable?

Was also wondering what people put in their nest boxes for the hens to lay on? I have been putting straw in, but they rake it all out

 

[ChamorroChicken]

Mine are removable and i put pine shavings in my coop, I leave the nest boxes bare but they eventualy end up full of poop and shavings. My hens use the dividers as roost sometime but usually only use the main roost.

 

[turbodog]

The common advice I've seen here is to either remove nest boxes or prevent access until they are old enough to start using them for the proper purpose. Otherwise, they get used to using them as roosts and make a mess in them.

 

[roxyblue]

if you don't mind cleaning the nesting boxes out then i would leave them there. put some egg-shaped things ( like golfballs or easter eggs) in the nesting boxes around the time they start laying to give them the idea that another hen had laid her egg there and that it's a good spot to lay her eggs. however if it's not to much of a hastle go ahead and remove the nesting boxes untill your chicks turn eighteen weeks old.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The reason you might keep the nest boxes closed is they might get in the habit of sleeping in them. If they are in the habit of sleeping on the roosts, there is usually no reason to keep them closed. The problem can come from a couple of places. When they are transitioning from sleeping on the floor to sleeping on the roosts, they may use the nests as a halfway point and just get in a bad habit. The other time I've had a problem is, if a chicken is getting beat up pretty badly on the roosts, they might leave the roosts and look for someplace safer to sleep.

I suggest you have them open a couple of weeks before you think they may start to lay so if they do start sleeping in them, you have time to take care of the problem before you get poopy eggs.