Well my 6 girls are young ladies now and have been in their coop and run since Easter. I let them out in the evenings to wander. They head back into the coop at dusk. They were hatched early March so they are now about 3 month old pullets. I'm hoping for eggs by late summer. Anyway...
Their coop has a slanted perch, upper one offset from the lower so as to avoid poopy heads, (picture a ladder) and each perch about 3 inches wide and three+ feet long. It has three, approximate one foot cubed nesting boxes accessible from the outside. When they started spending the night in the coop, every chicken (count that 6!) would pile into one nesting box! I figured it was because it was still getting down in the low-mid 40°'s at night. Now it's nice out and they pile into two nesting boxes. I suppose they're big enough that no more than 4 can squeeze into 1 box.
If this habit continues until egg laying, I doubt it will be good for any eggs that are laid if 8 legs and feet are stomping around on top of it.
Is this habit something I need to be concerned about? Should I block off the nesting boxes for another couple months to train them to sleep on the perch? Or will they naturally separate and sleep on the perch as they get older?
Hard to get inside a chicken's head!
Thanks
Their coop has a slanted perch, upper one offset from the lower so as to avoid poopy heads, (picture a ladder) and each perch about 3 inches wide and three+ feet long. It has three, approximate one foot cubed nesting boxes accessible from the outside. When they started spending the night in the coop, every chicken (count that 6!) would pile into one nesting box! I figured it was because it was still getting down in the low-mid 40°'s at night. Now it's nice out and they pile into two nesting boxes. I suppose they're big enough that no more than 4 can squeeze into 1 box.
If this habit continues until egg laying, I doubt it will be good for any eggs that are laid if 8 legs and feet are stomping around on top of it.
Is this habit something I need to be concerned about? Should I block off the nesting boxes for another couple months to train them to sleep on the perch? Or will they naturally separate and sleep on the perch as they get older?
Hard to get inside a chicken's head!
Thanks