sleeping in nesting boxes!?

[SuperflyMD]

My problem is that my flock is made up of two subflocks. The layers are about 7 months old and regularly access the nesting boxes for their intended purpose. The little ones are 2 1/2 months old and only recently integrated to the big coop when they "outgrew the grow out."

I can't block off the nesting boxes because I work nights and I'm afraid I won't get home in time to unblock them. With the design of my coop, I can't reach all of the little ones when they run from me.

Somewhere we heard the idea of hanging a curtain made of old t-shirts in front of the boxes. The layers will push past it to lay, but the others supposedly won't go in to rest.

Has anybody tried this?

 

[aart]

My problem is that my flock is made up of two subflocks. The layers are about 7 months old and regularly access the nesting boxes for their intended purpose. The little ones are 2 1/2 months old and only recently integrated to the big coop when they "outgrew the grow out."

I can't block off the nesting boxes because I work nights and I'm afraid I won't get home in time to unblock them. With the design of my coop, I can't reach all of the little ones when they run from me.

Somewhere we heard the idea of hanging a curtain made of old t-shirts in front of the boxes. The layers will push past it to lay, but the others supposedly won't go in to rest.

Has anybody tried this?

I wouldn't count on that working...I'd add a roost for the youngers(if the olders won't let them on the roost) and take them out of the nest after dark (easy to catch them) and put them on their roost.
Sounds like you work 11-7, so you could move them after dark but before leaving for work?

 

[SuperflyMD]

Thanks for the quick reply.

I actually have 4 roosts. The older 9 layers only use the first 2.

The first night of integration I put the younger girls on the other roosts, but I don't know how long they stayed there. There were a lot of droppings in the nest boxes when I went out this morning, and my kids reported poopy eggs yesterday.

This morning I blocked off 2 of the 4 nesting boxes with cardboard. The two left open are the easiest to reach, so I might have some luck relocating young ones tonight.

 

[jpfenimore]

I've hung curtains in my nesting boxes and it seems to have helped both in terms of discouraging the girls to sleep there, and also to use both nesting boxes. (The previously would only use, and fight over, one of the boxes).
hth,
Jamie

 

[Lvantuyl]

We tried moving our girls from the boxes onto perches, and they never caught on. I think it's time to try blocking off the boxes. The confusing issue is that they roosted until we provided them with a beautiful new home!

 

[SuperflyMD]

Our young ones finally got it after 3-5 days of picking them up and moving them to the roosts. It helps that I have four roosts, all the same height. The older girls take up two (same ones they were always on) and the young girls use the other two. I think blocking half of the available boxes made a difference as well. In another couple of weeks, as they get ready to start laying, I'll open up the blocked boxes. I think they're so used to the roosts that it won't be a problem.