Nesting

[missbrit2006]

My chickens are three months old there getting big and they won't nest in there own boxes, they are still huddling up together? Is there something I'm doing wrong

 

[Grain Gypsy]

Hey, MissBritt!

I am a fairly new chicken keeper, too. Our girls are 7 months old, and we've learned much over those seven months about how to keep are girls happy!

So, to try to answer your question, let's first distinguish roosting from nesting.

Chickens roost together at night to sleep. Roosting is when they pick the highest perch in the coop to "roost" on, and all huddle up there together to sleep. Your coop or enclosure should have a roosting pole/board that is the highest point of the coop. They will go up there at night to sleep for sure, and maybe even in the day if they want to get away or nap. The reason they pick the highest spot in the coop to roost, is because of pure instinct. The highest spot in the coop is safer from predators. This instinct is born into the chickens. Also, they sleep huddled together for warmth. In our coop, we used 2x4 boards. You want to make sure each bird has at least 8" of roost space on your roost, and that your roost is not positioned over food or water or nest boxes (because they poop a lot while roosting, and you don't want that yucky stuff falling into their clean food or water). Use wood, instead of metal, because metal can get too cold and cause their feet/toes to get frostbite in cold weather. Also, something flat like a board/ as opposed to round, allows them to sit on their feet, keeping them warm and protected. Here is a picture of one of our two roost bars so you can get the idea.



Nesting boxes are for a different purpose. Hens use nesting boxes to lay eggs. You want to discourage your hens sleeping in their nesting boxes, because they need to stay clean. Again, sleeping birds poop a lot, so the nesting box is not an ideal sleeping place. For this reason, you want to position your nesting boxes lower than your roost(s), so they will not sleep in them. No hen wants to go to a box filled with poo to lay her precious eggs, and no one wants to pick up and deal with poopy eggs. Our nesting boxes are 5-gallon buckets laid on their sides. The girls only use the nesting boxes when they need to lay an egg. You should have one nesting box for every 3-4 chickens. If you have 4 or fewer chickens, though, you need at least two nest boxes. This will allow for your hens to have another option if one of the other girls is hogging her box.

I hope this helps as a start. Please don't hesitate to ask if you get stuck. If I don't have an answer, someone on this site will.