When should I introduce a nesting box?

[midwifebeth]

Here is a picture of the inside of my small coop. I have 3 chickens. In the picture they are a few weeks old but now they are 9 weeks old.

I have 2 nesting boxes that I temporarily covered the opening so they wouldn't get in there too early. I don't even know if that was a good idea. It just made sense at the time because I didn't want to have to clean it out.

At what age would you recommend I let them have access to their nesting box? Or does it even matter?


Thanks,
Beth

 

[Chickmagnet36]

Blocking them off was a good idea in my opinion, I'm blocking mine as well. I've read that you can open them for business, once they are using the roosts on a regular basis to sleep. The idea is to prevent them from forming the habit of sleeping in the nesting boxes, and messing them up. Most breeds won't start laying until the 4-6 month range, so you have plenty of time to train them to sleep on the roosts. Good luck!