Please give me a reason or two why.....

[ChickPeas]

nesting boxes need to be up high on a shelf? Is there something wrong with a hen laying on the ground in the coop?

Just wondering......mine lay on the ground, without a nest box...they just found a dark cozy corner, dug out an area, laid their eggs and leave the coop. Is that a bad thing?

 

[rooster-red]

Protection from rodents and snakes?

 

[mmajw]

Just Cuz.....

 

[HorseFeathers]

They might step on the eggs and break them, which leads to eating it, which leads to them purposfully breaking and eating their eggs. Put the nest boxes relatively high, but lower than the roost or they'll roost in the boxes.

 

[ChickPeas]

Ahhh..good point! Thanks for letting me know what a moron I am!

 

[patandchickens]

My impression is that the main objection some people have to ground-level nestboxes is that there can be little distinction in some hens' brains between 'nestbox on the ground' and 'anywhere else on the ground'. I.e., some feel that ground-level nest boxes lead to more floor eggs.

I have not had that problem myself, using almost exclusively floor-level nestboxes with my original hens -- BUT, they are ISA Browns and probably genetically constructed to lay in the right place moreso than some other breeds

We shall see what happens when my sussexes and chanteclers (and one lonely campine) start laying, in a couple of months.

Pat

 

[ChickPeas]

Thank you EnviroGirl...that makes total sense..I was wondering if there was a "chicken" reason for it...like maybe they prefer to be up high by nature or something.

The "just cuz" answer was so uncalled for...

 

[mmajw]

It wasnt meant to be mean... Just cuz, was just because ..........

 

[Wildsky]

Mine are all low. The highest spot to lay for my girls is ontop of the two hay bales. All other nest boxes are either flat on the ground, or raised 4-6 inches off the ground.

(It works well for Broody's - they can hatch and keep their babies in the box, with no worries babies will fall out)

 

[ChickPeas]

"Just cuz" "Just because", however you put it, was simply a sarcastic response...:| No biggie.