Roosting boxes

[protoman]

So when building the inside portion of my coop I was told that if I didn't want to buy or build roosting boxes a good alternative would be milk crates on their sides. So, being on a budget, I followed these instructions and used these for the boxes. My chickens are about 3-4 months old and I know they are not yet ready to lay eggs, but they don't even seem the slightest bit interested in sitting or laying inside any of the boxes.

Is there something I am doing wrong or is it just that it's not time for them and therefore they ignore the boxes? I also have not seen any of them really sit down inside the inside portion or the coop except when it's really hot and they are trying to cool off by basically laying sprawled out. I also heard placing fake/plastic eggs in the roosting boxes might entice them to start laying or at least get them used to where they should lay. Is this valid? Any suggestions or tips?

 

[SD Bird Lady]

They are probably just not ready yet. They will probably start to check them out a week or so before they start to lay. If you put a couple golf balls it does help so that they lay in the boxes instead of on the ground. Good Luck.

 

[protoman]

Actually, the next day after posting this I found an egg and have been getting 1-2 eggs per day now. The eggs are always in the same place and not in the upper roosting boxes. Whomever is laying the eggs seems to be laying them underneath the roosting boxes in the corner. I would rather get them to start laying the eggs in the roosting area I made for them, but for the time being I can't complain. I would imagine as more start to lay eggs they wont all lay them in the same place, so I am hoping that by that time they will start using what I made.

I plan to start putting a few golf balls where I want them to lay in the next couple of days. Thanks for the tip! I will get back to you after the golf ball test results are in.