Sleeping in nesting box

[Shlbs13]

Hi all, I have 6 chickens who are 8 weeks old. They've been outside for a week now in their coop and run. The coop has roosts in it and I was assuming that's where they would sleep. Instead....they're all sleeping in one nesting box. All six of them. Is this normal or do I have the dumbest chickens in the world?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Hi all, I have 6 chickens who are 8 weeks old. They've been outside for a week now in their coop and run. The coop has roosts in it and I was assuming that's where they would sleep. Instead....they're all sleeping in one nesting box. All six of them. Is this normal or do I have the dumbest chickens in the world?

It is normal - and also completely undesirable. You want nest boxes to be associated only with the place to go to lay their eggs. Chickens expel a lot of waste while they sleep (this is why poop boards under the roost are such a great thing), and sleeping in nest boxes leads to boxes full of poop which, when they start to lay, leads to poopy eggs - and who wants that? You can either block off access to the boxes until they are closer to the age of beginning to lay or simply move them from the box each evening and place them either on the floor where they can pile up to sleep (again, totally normal - especially with younger birds) or place them on the roost where you want them to learn to sleep. They are creatures of habit and moving them will help them start to associate the new location you place them with where they go when it's time to sleep.

 

[Shlbs13]

Awesome! Thank you so much!!

 

[k1d2u3t4]

My chicks did the same thing. I blocked the nesting boxes with cardboard until they were 16 weeks old. It worked like a charm.

 

[iwiw60]

Totally agree with everyone's responses so far. Allowing your pullets to sleep in the nesting boxes is a huge no-no. Block them off for sure.

 

[Pinkaboo]

I let mine sleep in the nesting boxes
My husband wanted to card board it off but I wouldn't as they were young
And liked to huddle up in the hay

Now they happily sleep on the perches
I've removed the hay ( until they are at point of lay)
And just have sawdust in there

I'm doing the same in my other coop
I have 8 six week old chicks
Some perch some sleep in the box

 

[Shlbs13]

Thanks all!

 

[tmulleady]

I sure wish I knew about how bad it was to let them sleep in the nesting box when I started.

Now My girls will be laying soon and I can't get them to stop messing in their nesting boxes. Can ya tell I am a rookie? LOL bet I don't make that mistake again!