Point of lay pullers roosting in nesting box

[Andrea4858]

Hi All!
I’ve got 25 birds that will only roost on top of their nesting boxes. So I’m getting a TON of poop in the boxes. I’m expecting them to start laying any day now, so I’m trying to fix this behaviour. Any suggestions to get them to roost on the provided roost?

My boxes are mounted pretty high, and I definitely can not mount the roost higher than their boxes. My girls wings are not clipped, and I have been considering clipping just so they will not be able to get all the way up on top of the roost. Thoughts?

 

[chrissynemetz]

Chickens tend to want to sleep as high as they can. I think if it were me, I would lower their nest boxes, even as far as to mount them at floor level.

 

[aart]

I think if it were me, I would lower their nest boxes, even as far as to mount them at floor level.

Definitely this!^^^

You probably only need the 10 nest bank.
Is it metal?
I love those things, too big for my coop so I 'faked' them out of wood..

Might also need a different roost, bamboo tends to be slippery, even when aged, and the cracks could catch and damage a toe/nail.

 

[centrarchid]

Block off or temporarily remove nest box's so pullets have no choice other than to use provided roost if they want to sleep up. Once they start using proper roost for a couple of nights, then make nest box's available again.

 

[Andrea4858]

Definitely this!^^^

You probably only need the 10 nest bank.
Is it metal?
I love those things, too big for my coop so I 'faked' them out of wood..

Might also need a different roost, bamboo tends to be slippery, even when aged, and the cracks could catch and damage a toe/nail.

Yes those are the old metal nesting boxes-they came with the building when we bought the place. The roost is actually a small tree- it’s very old, but strong- and worn smooth from so many years. It also was in the coop when we bought the property.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I understand the nest placement because of the stone foundation. But, you are going to have to do a redesign. Get the nests much lower. I never put the entrance to nests more than 18" from the floor and often 6-12" just because sometimes there will be a broody hatching chicks. If chicks hopped out of your nests, they'd never be able to get back in.
All that, even though most of my buildings are fairly tall and the roosts can be significantly higher than the nests.
I definitely wouldn't clip wings because their nests are too high.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

If the pullets are not laying, can you remove the nest boxes entirely until they do start to lay? Or are you expecting eggs like, any minute? Also, is there a board across the top of the nests? If not, can you lay a board across the top, so the pullets can roost on top of the nests instead of inside them? That would then become the highest point in the coop and they might be willing to roost there. (I'm looking at this on my phone so can't really see if there is anything on top.)

 

[aart]

The roost is actually a small tree-

Ah...looked segmented like bamboo.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

This looks like an historic building. Inconvenience aside, it's pretty awesome looking! Do you know when it was built?

 

[Bigbluefrog]

After much fuss and remaking the roosts wider my pullets decided to sleep in the nest as well.
The nests are lower.
I closed off the nests and watched chaos as they seemed confused.
I found 2 on the floor and one hiding. One sleeping in the run.
I clean the coop daily and right now I am thinking who cares where they sleep as long as they go inside the coop.


so did you have success?