Sleepin' in the Nest Box. Uggh!!

[new2chickens2011]

My chickens are dumb! They don't roost! I have showed them the roost and put them on it, but they ALL FOUR crowd in the nest box and sleep there, getting it all poop-y. What will happen when they start laying eggs?
Do your girls do this?

 

[1muttsfan]

Block off the nest boxes at night until they are a little older, they will get the idea faster.

 

[Linn Bee]

Others here have mentioned that the roosts need to be higher than the nesting boxes for the chickens to use them.
I had a couple of pullets that started using my nesting boxes at night. I think they were at the bottom of the pecking order and found them a safe place to nap. I did nothing but clean the mess each morning. By the time they started laying they stopped sleeping in the boxes.

What kind of roosts? What kind of chickens? I have dual-purpose - large birds - so I took down my 2x2's and now have 2x4 roosts so they can rest on the wider side. Come to think of it, my first roost was lower than the boxes. But that was before I had the nest boxes installed. Later, I added a higher roost because it seemed they were too crowded after the nests were in.

Love, Linn B (aka Smart Red) * * * Nesting with 5 Australorp and 5 Lt. Brahma hens plus 'The Count of Monte Cristo' - or Monte, for short - one beautiful, well-behaved, hard-working, Australorp rooster, in south-est, central-est Wisconsin.

 

[Fierlin1182]

we had them in a pretty big box in the coop at first, which we put a roost through for them to perch on. Those little wings didn't have a hope of flying out of the box, so it was either the roost or the floor where all their poop was. They learned early on.

When they got out they naturally roosted because that's what they were used to.

I think it is a habit thing. I agree with blocking off the nest boxes, after a few nights on the roosts they'll get what to do.

 

[they'reHISchickens]

Block off the nest boxes until they reach Point of Lay.
Our young ones who are integrating into the flock use the nest boxes at night. I think it is for security and or warmth. As they mature, they move themselves to the roosts. if older ones use the nestboxes, it is usually during a molt.

 

[new2chickens2011]

Okay, thank you! Tomorrow morning I will block off the nest box.

Linn Bee, I have four DP hens, 18 weeks old. There is only one nest box. It's fairly large. The roost is above that, and it is thick and high enough I think. The nest box sticks out from the floor.

 

[KarenP]

My chickens were sleeping in the nest boxes until they started to lay. It's really strange, they just all of a sudden decided to perch.