When to clean out?

[InterestingChickens]

Is there anything else that is wrong with the inside of the coup? Just would like to know so I can fix it.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Well I can't tell a lot from the picture and I don't know how old your birds are but you'll want a nest box by the time they are 4 months old. You don't want them to develop a habit of laying elsewhere. Three chickens will only need one box but if you are ambitious you could build two.

Also, your roost is too low. It needs to be significantly higher than the nest box. Most breeds of chickens like to roost as high as they can get.
I have a few birds roosting in trees now refusing to go into the coop their friends are in. I got a picture a couple evenings ago of a rooster about 30' up in a tree.

If the roost isn't much higher than the nest, they'll sleep in the nest making for poopy eggs.

Wherever you end up putting the roost and nest/s you don't want the chickens to have to walk under the roost from outside to reach the nest unless you have a poop board under the roost. Otherwise the hens will track feces into the nest when they lay an egg.

Good luck on your new voyage.

 

[InterestingChickens]

Well I can't tell a lot from the picture and I don't know how old your birds are but you'll want a nest box by the time they are 4 months old. You don't want them to develop a habit of laying elsewhere. Three chickens will only need one box but if you are ambitious you could build two.

Also, your roost is too low. It needs to be significantly higher than the nest box. Most breeds of chickens like to roost as high as they can get.
I have a few birds roosting in trees now refusing to go into the coop their friends are in. I got a picture a couple evenings ago of a rooster about 30' up in a tree.

If the roost isn't much higher than the nest, they'll sleep in the next making for poopy eggs.

Wherever you end up putting the roost and nest/s you don't want the chickens to have to walk under the roost from outside to reach the nest unless you have a poop board under the roost. Otherwise the hens will track feces into the nest when they lay an egg.

Good luck on your new voyage.

Thanks for the advice. They are nearly 18 weeks, should I put the nest box in at 18 weeks?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I would put it in now. When laying is imminent they'll start searching for places to lay.

 

[InterestingChickens]

I would put it in now. When laying is imminent they'll start searching for places to lay.

Okay.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Thanks for the advice. They are nearly 18 weeks, should I put the nest box in at 18 weeks?

I agree, it's tie to make the nests available. Part of that is like Canoe said, you don't want to train them to lay somewhere else. But there is another reason. If they are going to sleep in the nests I'd want to know in time to fix that before you get poopy eggs. There are different reasons some or all might sleep in the nests. One typical reason is that the roosts are not higher than the nests but there can be others. If you experience that get back with us so we can help you solve the problem.