new chicks-nesting boxes

[tom evers]

we have 6 chicks that are about a week old. when they are ready to go out to their coop, which i an told at about 6 weeks old, should i install the nesting boxes or should i wait untill they are older and ready to lay eggs. im trying to avoid the problem ive read about where they use their nesting boxes as roosts.

 

[gritsar]

I'd wait. Just be sure to install your roosts higher than where you intend the nest boxes to be.
ETA: By the way, there's nothing that says your chicks have to be six weeks old to go to the coop. They can be in the coop at any age, even day one, so long as your coop is draft free and you are able to keep it (either naturally or artificially) at the temp. needed per their age. Some folks accomplish this by moving the brooder to the coop. That keeps them confined to a smaller space, without having to put up with the dust and smell that chicks in the house create.
I brooded mine outside.

 

[lisahaschickens]

I am no expert and can only tell you about my own experience... but I moved my chicks out to the coop at 2 weeks old and the nesting boxes were already installed and none of them have ever tried to sleep in them. But they just did that on their own, so I'm not sure if it could be a problem. I just gave mine lots of perches to use and they LOVED those from the beginning... different heights from one foot to about 7 feet high... 1 inch wide, 2 inches wide, 3 inches wide.... they jumped all over those and sleep on them. They played around the nesting boxes from the beginning but never slept in them. Now they are 23 weeks old, laying in the boxes, and doing really well!

 

[azelgin]

I'd wait until they are older. I don't have that option anymore, so every night I'm on eviction duty, removing the little ones from the nests and putting them on the roost. Seems like I've been doing this for months. The good thing is, that if I do it after dark, they stay on the roost until morning. I can't block off my nests, because I have layers and chicks all mixed together.