sleeping in the nest boxes?Is this allowed?

[chantecler]

Hi all

Well my girls have not started laying yet but they wwant to sleep in the nest boxes at night..

I have been covering the nest box openings with cardboard at night so they don't sleep and poop in them.

What do you guys do about this? Any suggetsions?

Thanks

 

[chickflick]

Exactly what you have done, block off the openings to the nest boxes. Are the roosts higher than the nest boxes? Chickens will roost as high as they can. It's normal for them to lay in their nest boxes before they begin to lay. Just keep it blocked off until they get use to using the roost. Another thing you can do is pick them up and put them on the roosts so they get the hint that's where they're suppose to go. They'll figure it out soon!

 

[spook]

You know, up until recently I have never had a hen that did that...now I have one that puts out pearls (poop) as large as her eggs in the nest box each morning. Some of my girls, when they get laying again after this recent moult lay early in the morning so covering the nest boxes are not what you want to do but then you don't want them sleeping in them either! I hope someone gives an answer that is workable. Good luck to you too!

 

[swtangel321]

I have a few hens that will sleep in there box, I hate it !!!!!! The poop gets everywhere and on the eggs, I dont think there is anything wrong with it... just annoying !!!!!

 

[cmom]

I agree with the other posts. My boxes are large enough to put milk crates in. Some how I would close off the nest boxes for awhile to discourage sleeping in them. At first I would get them out and put them on their roosts but they kept going into the nests then I pushed them out, but one was insistant and kept going in, so I blocked them off with the milk crates. I didn't want poopy eggs. My roosts are higher than the nest boxes. They eventually got the idea and started sleeping on the roost.

 

[Mahonri]

At the beginning of the behavior, I blocked off the nest boxes. At about week 19 I removed the boards that blocked the nests and put golf balls in. I've only had one egg layed on the coop floor and one in the run, the rest have been in the nest boxes and I don't see any poop in them. Good luck.

 

[chantecler]

Thanks GUys!
My roost are NOT higher than the nest boxes.... oops!!

Should put the roosts higher? The nest boxes are quite high .... sigh.... I thought I had done all my homework when designing my coop. Somehow I missed that

 

[bluey]

That would explain it. I'd try to put the roost higher...if possible.

Personally, I have 4 birds that sleep on the roost and 4 that sleep in the nestboxes.

I just clean the nestboxes out frequently. I don't mind.

 

[spook]

Well, I'll tell ya, there is always something we miss along the way, so homework or not, you are in the same ball park as the rest of us!

My roosts are higher, its only one bird, she lays long before I get up, even at 6:30 one morning there was an egg. So guess I'll clean out poop seeings they like 1 nest box. Pig pile when everyone is laying.
I'll welcome any suggestions too.

 

[lovemychix]

I bought my red stars from a guy who had them caged...so I assumed they never roosted. They all huddled in the nest boxes and filled them with poo. So everyday I had to clean the boxes out that got old fast. I decided that I would try to get them to roost at night so I started going out at night and placing them on the roost bar. Most of them are roosting now on the bar but I have a few that sneak back into the boxes. So I only have a few poos not a bucket.