They sleep in their nest boxes

[isavedchickens]

I rescued three chickens from a free-range commercial farm. They have their little hen house with has a nest box with two boxes in it and they sleep in it and mess in it every night. I have also found them asleep standing on the floor of the hen house not on the perches. Are the perches not right? They are about an inch wide, and we were wondering if they are too narrow to be comfortable? Thanks. Catherine

 

[Judy]

That is probably a good guess. Mine are the wide side of a 2"X4" board. Good, thick branches also work well. But chickens' feet just don't wrap around narrow things as well as other birds' do.

Besides changing the roost, you may find you need to close the nest boxes off at night and open them in the morning, til they learn to sleep on the roost.

 

[Roosterlover5]

Our hens used to sleep in the nesting boxes too,which was a real mess to clean up. To break them of the habit we put them on the perch every night and put chicken wire over the boxes so they would not go up,.then took it down in the morning so they could lay there eggs in there.

 

[chickarino]

Mine are about 12 weeks old and also sleep in the nesting boxes,I have 6 chickens and 4 nesting boxes and at night they all squish into one of the boxes it is so funny! Is it really a bad thing they sleep in there? there are two 2 x 4 that are up for them? I am new to the whole chicken thing but LOVING it

 

[lclough1998]

Each night when you go out to tuck them in (lol)just remove them from the nest box and put them on the roost. How high off the ground are the roosts? If they are too high with no way to get up without flying, they may just be going to the nest box because thats what they can reach. Do you think they are huddling together to stay warm? Not sure where folks live but they may be cold and they have always huddled together. They may not know yet that they will love the roost. I would make the roost wider too, during the winter it keeps their feet warm too as well as easier for them to stay on.

 

[RedStarLady1207]

I have three birds and a wide roost bar and they take turns using it, but almost always someone is sleeping in the nesting area. It is not a problem to clean up the entire upper area each day, roost and nest. I like the fine wood shaving litter - so easy to clean. I think I read somewhere the wide roost is what they like and not a perch, with the difference being the width. Plus, in cold times they put their breast over their feet which keeps them warm and tuck their head under their wing.

It could be my roost bar is not long enough - or maybe the nest is so comfy. There is only one roost bar in my small Ark coop and it is wide (about 3" and sanded on the edges as to not give splinters). It is about 3 feet or so long (maybe not long enough) for 3 chickens but it seems it could be if they sat side by side with an inch or so between them I guess. I don't want to put a roost in the run as I don't want them hanging out there at dark. Each night at dusk all 3 walk up the ladder and when all 3 are up, I pull up the ladder and lock them in for the night. At this point - I kind of don't care how they arrange themselves to make themselves comfy. They were floor raised started pullets, and before I got them, they had not even seen grass, soft litter, a roost, or a nest box. They probably just slept on the floor I'm guessing. (McMurray website said they were floor raised) so I'm guessing that is what that literally means.

I could cover my nest box area but I don't mind someone sleeping there. Not a big deal for me. I clean the upper part every morning after I lower the ladder - takes 2 minutes.

 

[isavedchickens]

Thank you all, I will extend the roost bars. The other thing I have a question about is...The person that helped me buy all the things I needed for the chickens recommended I use hay as their bedding, he said not to use wood shavings because of the dust. Is hay the right thing?