Nesting & laying under coop?

[mrkep]

An old-timer stopped by today to see the new chickens, and he had a suggestion, said I should close off the access to under the coop because they would build nests and lay eggs under there instead of inside in the nest boxes. So far (3 days) they all go under there frequently. When something scares them, they are all under there until they get over it.
There is 8" from the bottom of the siding to the ground, then 7 1/2" of floor joist , so I think they could stand up when full grown.
The back 2 sides are closed off with 1/2" hardware screen with apron, can't get in or out back there.
Any thoughts?

 

[PuffinStuff]

WoW Nice Coop and Run! are they all young or young and old? do they go in at night?

 

[mrkep]

They are a straight run of Buckeyes, 24 of them 5 weeks old today. Still wondering what the roo-pullet split will be.
I put a lite with a timer in the coop, the second day,nite, they were all inside waiting for me when I went to close them up at 10:00.

 

[chicmom]

I would definitely close that space underneath so they couldn't get in there. I love your coop/run setup! It's very nice.

 

[Nostalchic]

I agree, very nice set up but trying to get an injured or just an evasive chicken from under there would be tough, and it looks like a prime place for a nest. We also used a hardware cloth apron around the entire base of our coop which is a foot to 18 inches up, thinking it would also prevent unwanted critters (thinking skunks, rats) from setting up under the coop, so far so good. PS: even behind that post I can see a big grin on your face! It's great!

 

[jrleader99]

I have to agree with everyone else here and suggest closing off that space along the bottom of your building. I had some indian runners laying under their house at one time and it was not pretty to clean out - rotten eggs and lots of bedding material.

I also wanted to comment, your setup looks great.