Nesting ( Egg ) Boxes

[Lowanda]

Can some body PLEASE tell me why do chickens go to bathroom in boxes , I have to clean mine out EVERY MORNING.
Thank You
Lowanda Hewitt

 

[usschicago1]

Unfortunatly You Posted in the wrong spot...i would have posted this in chicken behavors and egglaying... But thats okay your new and you'll get the hang of it

Do they sleep in the nesting boxes? if so thats when they poop the most. If you already have roosts i would try to get them to roost in them or i would install some if you dont alreads have some....Are they inside allday? On days mine are they just go up there and poop

 

[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...

 

[edselpdx]

Your ladies have decided that the nest box is a good place to sleep apparently. Chickens poop a huge amount in their sleep at night. Make sure the roost is comfortable and higher than the opening to the nest box, because they will often choose the highest place in the coop to roost. A good roost is a 2 x 4 with the flat (wide) side up, rather than a dowel, so they can sit on their feet. As someone else mentioned, blocking off the nest boxes either all the time until they are laying, or at night for a while to prevent them from getting in there to sleep will help. Another trick is to go into the coop in the evening and move them to the roost to get them used to sleeping there. Sleepy chickens are easy to move without disturbing them much if you keep the light level low (use a flashlight).

Poopy nest boxes are no fun, and that's a chore you should be able to avoid with a little investment in retraining now.

 

[PandoraTaylor]

be sure that your roosts are the highest point in the coop, then they won't sleep in the nestboxes.