Two weeks we combined our two small flocks into one large flock. It went very well. Last week we attached the two coops into one large coop, more floor space. We removed the roosts from one side and added more to the other side. Roosts are now at one end and nesting boxes at the other. Three of the four hens who lived in the coop with the nesting boxes have now taken to roosting in the nesting boxes at night instead of moving to the roosts at the other end. The fourth hen has moved to the "new" part of the coop and are roosting with the other chickens. Is there anyway of getting the three hens out of the nesting boxes and onto the roosts with the other chickens? Winter and cold weather is coming to Upstate New York very quickly.
I would try blocking off the nest box at night and unblock it in the morning. That is what I had to do when my hens started sleeping in the nest boxes. I did that for a week or so and they now roost with the others.
mine all line up ( acording to breed mind you ) in the nesting box, well in front of them on the front of the boxes. They poo in them every night... SO, everyday Im having to clean the nesting boxes...UGHHHH
If they are young, I would give them some more time to move to the roosts. Actually, if it ere my chickens, I probably wouldn't do anything.
My girls piled into the nest boxes for quite a while. Even in the extreme heat last summer, 3 or 4 of them would cram themselves into the same nest box. I kept dragging them out and moving them either to the roosting bar or to a different nest box, and now they all sleep on the highest (4') roost in their new coop. It may be a developing balance thing. They aren't worried about it now. I went out last night and shined a flashlight in the coop, and 4 were cuddled together at the east end of the 6' roosting bar (a 2x4 wide side up) and the other 3 were on the west end all cuddled together. Honestly, if it hadn't been for the heat, I wouldn't have dragged them out of the nesting boxes last summer. It isn't that hard to clean out the poo first thing in the morning. I just want them happy.
