One more questions

[mychickens]

I have one more question about egg laying..... I am a new egg with my 1st chickens and my chickens are new also they are 16 weeks old. I am wondering if they will know what to do when it is time for them to lay. There is only the 6 of them and they are all the same age. They didn't know to go in the hen house at night ( I had to put them in there a couple of nights) and they still don't know to get onto the roost even though I have put them up there, they sleep in a huddle on the floor. We are all fumbeling our way through this.

 

[goldielocks]

You have to keep them in their coop and run for awhile before you let them free range. Then they will go into their run and to the coop each evening on their own. They have to know where their home is. There has to be a routine with them...go in each night and put them on their roost, make sure its before dark, they cannot see at night and they do need to be up.

Our girls started checking out the nest boxes a couple of weeks before they started laying. Do you have their nest boxes ready? They will lay outside if you dont keep them in their coop and run area. I keep my girls in their coop and run area until about 2 or 3 hours before dark, then i go out and let them out to play for awhile and then they go back in on their own and i lock them in so they dont get killed. If you are going to free range them you might not have chickens for long or be able to find their eggs.

 

[mychickens]

They do go into the hen house now each night but still do go onto the roost. Are you saying they need to get onto the roost or are they okay just to huddle in the corner? I do have their nesting boxes ready but had to close them off for a week or so because they were all 6 sleeping in one nest box! I still haven't opened the nest boxes back up yet. I guess I should in case they will be laying in a few weeks

 

[Nemo]

You might want to sneak in there late at night and put them up on the roosts. It might take a few nights to get them all doing it.

They tend to poop while (?) they are sleeping, and will get messy if they are on the ground sleeping in it. When on a roost, it drops away from them.

Once you get them sleeping on the roosts, open the nest boxes up. When the big day comes, you'll want them to have access to the boxes so they don't start making their own nests out in the run.

 

[Imp]

Quote:
They're OK on the floor. I would only worry if you are in an extreme cold winter area, and they are on damp ground. You don't need to open the nest boxes up until they start to lay. If you want them to use the roosts then put them on the roosts, they'll figure it out eventually.

Imp

 

[mychickens]

Thanks everyone!