Will chickens poop in their nests?

[Carobean]

Yes, when I posted earlier that my gals don't poop in their nest boxes, I should've also said that's not where they sleep. Lots of poop where they sleep!

 

[anitapreciouspearl]

So besides poopie eggs is there any health reason to not let them sleep in the boxes? Mine sleep in the boxes and lay the eggs on the floor below it where it is clean. I was wondering about respiratory problems??

 

[lindabean]

We find poop in our nests several times a week, usually in the nest that they don't lay eggs in, but not always. Told hubby that it must be the chicken who doesn't lay eggs yet, that is practicing. She doesn't want to feel left out, so she goes up there, grunts & strains, then comes out feeling MUCH better. We keep a garden trowel next to the trap door to the nests, to clean up after them.
Nasty Birds!!!

 

[CallyB57]

h'mmmm - my birds sleep or 'roost' outside on a 2x4 at night, or inside the henhouse on a 2x4, but have never attempted to sleep in the nesting boxes. I think it's because I read you should not let the hens have access to the nesting boxes before they begin to lay...so, I had some aluminum screening stretched across the box openings, and after the first hen laid an egg, I un-covered the nest boxes (3 of them) and left a golfball in one as a clue. The only one laying eggs goes to the nest box, lays the egg, then leaves until she is ready to lay another.

 

[mamichi]

lindabean, thanks for the laugh!

Cally, thanks for posting the advice about covering their nests until they're actually laying. We will try that

 

[OrpingtonManor]

I guess I got lucky. I was wondering why my girls don't poop in the nest, and now I know. I was rushing to get the coop done because they were growing so fast. (Chicks first + coop second = bad idea.) The nest box wasn't even finished, so I covered the opening until I could get it finished. (It was an external community coop.) They were sleeping on the roosts long before the nest box was finished. Lucky me.

 

[isabrownmom]

I must be lucky so far as I've not found any poo in the 2 nest boxes I have for my 6 Isa Browns. I got them over two weeks ago as they were just beginning to lay at about 20 weeks of age or so. I have a fake egg in each box and their roosting bars are about 10 inches higher than the nesting boxes on the opposite wall so I'm hoping this trend continues!!

 

[cmom]

My birds were sleeping in the nest boxes. I would put milk crates in the nest boxes in the evenings and take them out in the mornings for a week. It seems to have worked. I did it with my hens and with my pullets. Also I put a golf ball in each nest box. I also made sure the roosts are higher than the nest boxes. The birds tend to go to the highest spot to roost. My original roosts were at the same height as the nest boxes. I have raised it to just above the boxes. It's no fun when they get used to sleeping in the nest boxes and then you reach in and get poopy eggs. This happened to me in the beginning. I thought it was cute. I finally got tired of cleaning the poopy eggs and the poop out of the nest boxes..