When should I put the nesting boxes in..?

[kona26]

I have 6 chickens that where moved out to the coop...they are about 5 and half weeks old. I am wanting to know when I should put the nesting boxes in..?

 

[Bigwig]

What breed are they?

 

[kona26]

I have 2 road island reds 2 americanus. 2 yellow chickens ...can not remember the name

 

[kona26]

 

[Blooie]

You can put the nesting boxes in anytime it's convenient for you. ( I built my coop with the nesting boxes in place.) Then all you have to do is block them off until they are ready to start laying. I waited until I found my first egg on the coop floor, then unblocked the nest boxes and put a fake egg in each one. They got the idea. The one thing you don't want to have happen is for them to have access to the nest boxes too soon - they'll get in the habit of sleeping in them and then you have poopy eggs to contend with.

Edited to add: The picture might be deceiving but is the ramp up to the coop that steep? Hard to tell for sure, I guess it depends on how much higher up it goes than the photo shows. I also see a little tree branch in there...chickens don't really curl their feet that tightly when they perch or roost. Can you switch that out for a thicker branch or a piece of 2x4 layed with the 4 inch side facing up? Just curious.

 

[Bigwig]

I did not put nest box's in my coop until my chickens (including ameraucanas) were over six months old.

 

[rides2far]

We put ours in & blocked them off. We just placed our new roosts & poop board on top. They are almost 8 weeks old.

 

[kona26]

yeah the branches seem a little small to me as well. I will be putting in something bigger. The ramp is about 2.5 feet long. I bought this coop pre-built. the chickens are able to get in and out of the coop how it is . I am sure I will change it up a little

 

[Mike26726]

I also built mine with boxes in place. They should be ready to lay soon so I opened them up and placed fake eggs in there. Hopefully they catch on quick

 

[newmarch2014]

If my husband would have added the nesting boxes when he built the coop I too would have just blocked them off. He built the boxes when they were about 16 weeks old, as soon as their faces got red and one squatted I hurried him along in finishing them. The girls were in the habit of roosting so no need to block off the boxes, never even had to put an egg in the box, I just made sure the nesting boxes were of a design that made them the secluded private part of the coop and they let nature take its course.