Somebody enlighten me!!!!!

[Orpingtonman]

I do the usual cleaning out of the coops and stuff and put new bedding in the boxes and on the coop floor. But everytime i add new bedding in the coops, the hens scratch most of it out. They act like they want bare nest box underneath them. Theres bedding around them but not underneath them. I watched one stand up to drop an egg yesterday and it hit the wood and bounced right off the wood. Somebody please enlighten me about this behavior if you have any idea for this.

 

[Orpingtonman]

BUMP

 

[katrinag]

I use pine bedding and straw on top. This has worked well for me. Some people use carpet too.

 

[Orpingtonman]

hadn't thought of carpet but im still trying to understand why they do it. Im coming to the conclusion they do it because they can

 

[1mommahen]

Ours do the same thing, crazy birds!

 

[Leah-yes I know I'm crazy]

Quote:
I'd just go with that thought because sometimes understanding why they do anything will just keep you up at night. A piece of indoor/outdoor carpet you can hose off or throw away scrap may be a better option if you have some girls with bad habbits. lol

 

[ranchhand]

Some type of padding that doesn't scratch out so easily will cure the problem. I use scraps of carpet, sheet foam, whatever's handy. Then I put wheat straw on top. They scratch to straw out and are content with that.


ETA, I don't know why they do it- but my Lab scratches the rug before he lies down. Go figure!

 

[Jena]

Hmmm Mine too and they rearrange things. They have been moving their water container into the middle of the space, which is sensible because then they can all reach even behind it. lol.... I just clean and put in fresh shavings in the full knowledge that they will change it all around and they scratch patches bare in the floor, then they get fed up with it again.

I have found that they pile up all the shavings under the water stand.

House-keeping?

Wish I had an answer for you.

Jena.

 

[PortageGirl]

They just want to rearrange things for themselves... you could try a different nest material if it bugs you, but I don't see much of a problem. There's also rubber matting you could try cutting to fit the nest area... but

if they're happy then you should be too!

 

[AHappychick]

mine do that too, they push all the straw to the sides and the box is bare on the bottom, I dont mess with it because when ever I would adjust it they would just push the staw away. I havent had a broken egg yet so I just leave it. maybe the carpet is a good idea, but make sure that there are no chemicals in the carpeting I would think that that would not be good for them.