Young Hen sleeps in laying box

[Freeloading Chickens]

Hi all. I have a small flock of six chickens, four 20-month-olds (three Rhode Island Reds and one Americana who were all chicks together), and two eight-month-old Americanas (who we got the day they hatched, and they've been together their whole life). The two littles have been bullied by the big girls, not horribly or concerningly, but consistently, ever since we integrated the two groups, and the two littles are constantly trying to see which one of them is lower on the pecking order. We put a second night-time perch in the chicken house when we integrated the two groups and for a long time, only the two littles slept on it. More recently, it has become a source of much fascination for the big girls and there is much ridiculosity at night with nearly all of the girls jumping onto both perches to figure out where they want to sleep. Often, one or more of the big girls ends up sleeping on the little girl's perch, which I figure is probably fine as long as no one bothers anyone else. But I've been finding one of the littles, Goldie, sleeping in one of the laying boxes rather than on the perch; I always make sure that she is on a perch before I lock up, but when I go back to check on them, or when I peek in there in the morning, she's in the laying box--and always the first out of the house. When the two littles lived in the house as babies, they often snuggled together in a box under their perch at night so I'm thinking that she might find it comforting to sleep in a box, but I'm also wondering if someone is pestering, or bullying, her so much that she goes to sleep in the laying box in order to get away from them.
My question is, is it detrimental for her to do this? And if so, what can I do to help?
Thank you.

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

Sometimes, for some reason, even though it is different, some chickens don’t like to rooster. I have 6 nest boxes in my one chicken coop and there is 1 - 2 chickens in each nest box every night. It’s not dangerous for her or anything - not even a problem - she probably just prefers to be laying down. Nothing wrong with it. I wouldn’t worry about her.

 

[50-45-1]

She is maybe getting bullied and resorting to the nest box.
I also have some of my older girls chose the straw in the nest box for sleeping when they are moulting. It's just warmer for them, and I get it.
I would discourage it as the nest box will get soiled if she sleeps in there, and then the eggs will get poopy.
Try moving her manually each night after dark, or blocking off the nest boxes in the afternoon, after laying egg time is over.
She will get the message in a week or so.
Good luck!

 

[Freeloading Chickens]

Sometimes, for some reason, even though it is different, some chickens don’t like to rooster. I have 6 nest boxes in my one chicken coop and there is 1 - 2 chickens in each nest box every night. It’s not dangerous for her or anything - not even a problem - she probably just prefers to be laying down. Nothing wrong with it. I wouldn’t worry about her.

That's a relief. Thank you for letting me know. I have found her "sister," Poppy, sleeping in a laying box too and I thought that the big girls were bulling the littles off of the perch, but Poppy sleeps on the perch at night more often than not.

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

That's a relief. Thank you for letting me know. I have found her "sister," Poppy, sleeping in a laying box too and I thought that the big girls were bulling the littles off of the perch, but Poppy sleeps on the perch at night more often than not.

Sometimes it’s just what they prefer that.
By the way I love your chickens names! I have a poppy and she is a Golden Laced Wyandotte. What’s Poppy???

 

[Freeloading Chickens]

She is maybe getting bullied and resorting to the nest box.
I also have some of my older girls chose the straw in the nest box for sleeping when they are moulting. It's just warmer for them, and I get it.
I would discourage it as the nest box will get soiled if she sleeps in there, and then the eggs will get poopy.
Try moving her manually each night after dark, or blocking off the nest boxes in the afternoon, after laying egg time is over.
She will get the message in a week or so.
Good luck!

Nobody is laying right now because all of my girls are either finishing up or still going through a molt. Maybe like you said she finds it warmer; she's still regrowing her tail feathers. I sometimes pick her up and put her on the perch but more often than not she looks at me guiltily and jumps up herself.
Thank you!

 

[Freeloading Chickens]

Sometimes it’s just what they prefer that.
By the way I love your chickens names! I have a poppy and she is a Golden Laced Wyandotte. What’s Poppy???

Thank you. She's an Americana. Mostly white with gold on her tummy and, after her first molt, a dark head and black spots on some of her tail feathers.

 

[aart]

My question is, is it detrimental for her to do this? And if so, what can I do to help?

I might become a bad habit, I don't like poop in the nests from nighttime
When this happens I block the nests an hour before roosting time then unblock when I lock up after dark....or you can unblock early in the morning.
Sometimes you have to 'force' them into better habits.

 

[Sally PB]

I might become a bad habit, I don't like poop in the nests from nighttime
When this happens I block the nests an hour before roosting time then unblock when I lock up after dark....or you can unblock early in the morning.
Sometimes you have to 'force' them into better habits.

Yup, this is what I do.

The only time I allow a hen to sleep in a nest box is if they are in the porcupine stage of molting. Once they're past that, they have to go back on the roost.