Sleeping in nesting boxes...argh.

[JReedy72]

Hey everyone!

Okay my RIR girls will be 20 weeks old this weekend. They have great red waddles, and are really healthy looking. I put in a couple nesting boxes a few weeks back...they have no sides, and are up about 8" off the floor of the coop. Now, when I go out after dark and open the door, all six of them are sitting on the boxes. All I get is a huge load of poo in the boxes every morning. I mean, a couple may be sitting in the box, and the rest are sitting on the edges and so forth. I changed the stick I had in there as a roost to a 2x4, but they still do not seem to use that to roost on. I am wondering if they may be getting ready to lay, or do they just like to hang out close at night. Your thoughts?

Jason

Eggs soon????

 

[gritsar]

Hey, are you nest boxes higher than your roosts? You always want the roosts to be the highest point in your coop.
To break them of the habit you may have to go in every night for several nights and move them to the roosts. Use a very dim light to do this, I suggest a penlight, and be consistent till they get the idea.
Good luck!
ETA: No sides on your nestboxes? I'm afraid that might not work out well. Eggs get moved around alot when hens are in and out of the boxes laying.

 

[HennysMom]

Quote:
I agree with grit..... if your boxes are higher than your roosts are... they will go to the boxes every time.

Another suggestion is close off the boxes for now and get them used to using the roosts. On the 2X4 - did you turn it long ways, so the width is what they have to roost on, not the skinny side - and did you sand down the edges to make it a bit smoother on them?

My girls have their inside roost (a 2X4 w/sanded edges just to cut the sharpness on their feet) as well as outside roosts made from nice thick tree branches (no knots to cut their feet). In the warmer months, they all sleep outside on their roosts - and they love it.

 

[JReedy72]

The roost is rounded a bit...did not sand it though, and yes the flat side is up.

The nesting boxes are 12" x 12" each, and about 4" deep. They have sides, but the sides do not go above the 4" depth. I will remove it for now and take the legs off of them...maybe that will work.

jason

 

[Danceswithchicks]

I also agree with the others. Just don't let them make a habit of going to the nesting boxes constantly.

 

[SandRun]

I had this problem as well, even though my nest boxes were lower than my roosts. I had 10 chickens stacked in to three nest boxes. In my case the nest boxes are built into the wall and accessible from the outside, so inside the coop the nest box opening is flush with the wall (does that make sense). I just covered them for about 2 weeks and they got the idea. As a matter of fact I uncovered them this past Monday and had my first egg by Tuesday.

I was amazed at how small the first eggs are, it weighed an ounce and a half. I hope they get bigger from my BO hens.

 

[cmom]

I agree with the other posts. My birds were sleeping in the nest boxes. I would put milk crates in the nest boxes in the evenings and take them out in the mornings for a week. It seems to have worked. I did it with my hens and with my pullets.. Also I put a golf ball in each nest box. I would also make sure the roosts are higher than the nest boxes. The birds tend to go to the highest spot to roost. My original roosts were at the same height as the nest boxes. I have raised it to just above the boxes. It's no fun when they get used to sleeping in the nest boxes and then you reach in and get poopy eggs. This happened to me in the beginning. I thought it was cute. I finally got tired of cleaning the poopy eggs and the poop out of the nest boxes..

 

[Malou-La-Croix]

At least yours are acknowledging the nest boxes--mine ignore it completely! I hope when they get closer to laying they start taking an interest. I have comfy bedding and golf balls....they are about 20 weeks too.

 

[JReedy72]

Hey all...took the legs off the nest boxes, and found this in one of them today after I got home from church!

YAY!!

Jason

 

[phillyfarmer]

Whohoo! Looks good!

One of my chickens is sleeping in the nesting box eventhough I have 2 roosting poles higher than the nest. Go figure? Three of them like to snuggle in the corner of the coop

And another one just started to lay. We got the first egg on Saturday. We found it in the garden. She layed another one on Sunday which was in the opposite (away from the nesting boxes) corner of the coop.

I put golf balls in there and she has layed two more eggs over the past few days on the floor in that corner.

I am hoping I can get all straightened out before the others start to lay, or we will have to watch where we step in the coop!