Pooping in the Nest Box ...

[Adirondacked]

During the day!

I have five hens, going into their second year. All night long, no problem. They don't even sleep in the nests. But pretty frequently, I go out to grab some eggs mid-morning (I check several times a day), and there is a big blob of poop where there was a clean nest box an hour or two ago. Because it's during the day that this is happening, I can't do the "block the nest off at night" thing.

Any ideas?

 

[Imp]

Quote:
Is there an egg in with the poop? or is one using the nest as a toilet? I'd watch, follow them into the coop and try to catch the culprit. Then she would be confined away from the nests for awhile.

Good Luck,
Imp

 

[feathersnuggles]

Yep, is there an egg with the poop? I have one who lays HUGE eggs and she always strains hard to pass that egg. Hence, she also poops a little bit, before she is able to pass her egg.

If no egg, just poop in the nest, maybe someone is taking a mid-day rest in the nest? Some birds don't rest well at night if their roost is too narrow or round shaped like a closet rod. They like something wide & flat to sit on, like a 2x4 - with the 4" side facing up. It's more restful, especially for older birds, because they can relax their feet and not grip their toes hard to hang on to the roost. I am speaking from experience here -- I know someone who has had several daytime nest-poopers, only to trace the cause to their round pole roosts where the hens were not getting much sleep at night. During the day, some of the hens were using the nests to catch little naps.

Also, make sure your nests are not as high as the roost.

 

[Adirondacked]

I have 2x4 perches, and they seem to sleep fine (as you say). They pretty much stay outside all day, except to go into the nest to lay.

Anyhow - Yep, egg with poop. So, nothing to be done about that, other than checking for eggs and getting the other eggs out asap so they don't get fouled?

 

[feathersnuggles]

Quote:
Yes, get them out asap, if you can. If your hen is laying really big eggs and straining to get them out, you probably can't do anything about how the egg size together with her muscles are pressing down against her lower intestines and forcing out a little poop.

The best advice I can think of, is to give them a little plain active-culture yogurt, to add some good probiotics and help to firm up the poop in case it's loose diarrhea. ACV, too, of course. However, if you're already doing that & if the nest poop is not loose like diarrhea, then I don't know anything to recommend other than picking up the eggs and wiping them off.

 

[Toast n Jelly]

Yes I'd just clean the egg and come prepared with a dustpan for the poop