Why do my Chickens Roost on the Nesting Box?

[Sea Wolf]

Hard to see, but I would say that the lower bar is too narrow and they don't like perching on it. Give them a wider, flatter space to stand. My birds do not want to perch like on a branch. They want to be able to sit.

 

[Judy Todd]

Our chickens seem to hate roosting. Especially the younger ones. And when they do, it's on the perch that's attached to the front of the nesting box. It's not because there isn't enough space. And the nesting boxes are significantly lower than the perches. It's very annoying because there is always poop in the nesting boxes in the morning. Which gets on the eggs of course... If I go in there after dark and turn on the light, a huge amount of them fly down from the roosts and act like it's day time.

I have had the same problem with the new young ones every spring. I cover the front of the nest boxes with plywood after dark and uncover them early in the AM. I admit sometimes one of my hens lays an egg on the floor before I get out there. Your young ones will eventually get the hang of roosting where they should. lean the plywood on the perch in front of the nest boxes. It might take a few weeks to repeat this but eventually it will work. Reading the other replys, maybe I will sneak out there after dark and remove the boards, see if that works as well.

 

[Layke]

View attachment 1748470
You can't see it but there's a bar level with the the bottom of the nesting box. Actually if you look real close you can see it.

Could it be that your roosting bar is too low. Chickens like to go to the highest point and your bar is almost to the ground. So it might be natural for them to go up to the box since it is higher. Just a thought. Having said that, it may be too late because they are creatures of habit and short of shutting off the boxes so they can't get in, they will just continue to go where they have always gone.

 

[LozzyR]

50-45-1, that would be so interesting to put a camera out there! And, for a long time, I moved them to the roosts after dark every night, and they didn't seem to grasp the concept... maybe it's pecking order thing... IDK... I was mainly trying to figure out if anyone else's chickens had that tendency and if they left it or if they found a solution... I'm wondering if we took the perch off, would it hinder their ability to get into the nesting boxes?

I’ve had six girls and none of them roosted. Four of them were/are ex-battery hens and two of them are still pullets. My original two kept kicking down the perches so I ended up taking them out (they were too narrow, anyway). When I got my 16 week-old pullets they ignored the perch and slept in the nesting box. If there’s poo on an egg I just wipe it off with some bedding and wash my hands after handling all eggs. I do a daily poo-removal and chuck it in a garden bed that isn’t being used at the moment. As I’ve only got four it’s not that much of a big deal; I can imagine it would be more problematic though for someone with a bigger flock, and hence more poo.

 

[Mary Chapman]

I had mine doing the same thing but they just didn't like the roost. So I made them a different type and they love it and don't roost on the nest box one now. This is the one they prefer over the hanging ones.

 

[Dbendell]

I have 3 hens, and they did that too in the winter. It made a mess of the nesting boxes but they laid infrequently in the winter so it wasn't a big deal. I feed and water them in the morning before they lay, and most of the time I was able to clean out the nesting boxes before they laid their eggs. The coop has a door behind the nesting boxes so it was easy enough to scrape out the mess. Now that it's warmer they aren't roosting on the nesting boxes.

 

[DrakeMom]

Layke, the bar that is level w/ the bottom of the nesting box is for them to perch on while they are searching for a box to lay in. That is not their roast. Fishkeeper, you are too funny! Anyway, all ya'lls are so supportive, thank you!

 

[Lori S]

So roost is 8' long and higher than the nests?
Did adding birds take your total past 4 birds?

The roost is four feet long, higher than the nests. I have only four birds now.

 

[DrakeMom]

So roost is 8' long and higher than the nests?
Did adding birds take your total past 4 birds?

We have 28 hens, wanting to butcher 9 of them soon...

 

[DrakeMom]

Also, we are wanting to get down to only enough laying chickens for our family of 7 people as we have 28 hens, we ave to sell eggs and they gets stressful... So hopefully in the next few years lots will stop laying so we can butcher or give some away to friends