Hens sleeping in nest boxes

[crazyhorse]

Hi

I know it's not ideal that they do this. Is there another alternative to making the perches higher than the nest boxes to stop them doing this?

My hens are 17 weeks old and I have had them for a week.

Many thanks.

 

[chrismahon]

They are not laying yet then Crazyhorse, so just block all the nest boxes off and lift then onto the perches at night. Add curtains to the nestboxes over the next month -we use Wilko car mats slit 15mm wide to 2" from one edge. I've just bought another 10 for this purpose. Found sacking frays and gets caught around their feet and plastic sheet flaps around when they flap their wings and scares them. We also had a case where the plastic got wrappred around one and when I went in to collect the eggs one strip was stretched to twice the length of the others -rubber is best.

Poo in the nest boxes and on the eggs -ugh! Becomes a breeding space for lice and mites as well.

 

[crazyhorse]

Thanks.

They all sat on their perches for the first two nights, so I am sure if I block the next boxes off, they will soon get the idea.

Do you mean I should add a curtain and leave it there all the time for them? I'm confused. lol.

Thanks

Lisa

 

[chrismahon]

Yes Lisa. The curtain stays there permanently. They will soon get the hang of going through it to lay and you can help by pegging it back for a while. The curtain also discourages egg eating and predators, like rats, squirrels and magpies. Will encourage them to lay in the secure and private nest box rather than a corner outside as well.

We hold ours in place with a small batten screwed onto the coop wall.

 

[crazyhorse]

Hi

I see, that's great thanks and thanks for the tip on the batton.

Regards

Lisa

 

[Marigold]

I would just try blocking off the boxes for a week or two and training them to perch, as you are doing. Once they have got the idea, I've never had any problems with them using the boxes, so maybe you could have Chris' s idea in reserve if all else fails? Its worth making sure no daylight comes In through a crack in the nest box, perhaps where the lid doesn't close completely, have a look from inside. In my coop it would be difficult to fix the rubber mats, though I'm sure they're a good idea in some circumstances, if really needed.

 

[tygrysek75]

This is sort of curtain Chris was telling about

 

[crazyhorse]

Hi,

Thanks for the replies. After I had cleaned out the coop, I removed the straw in the nest boxes and I put a large clay plant pot in each nest box. I encouraged the hens to go in the coop around dusk.

Ah hour or so later, I looked into the coop and all four of them were on one of the perches. I have four perches in total. I thought it was quite sweet of them to be huddled together. Bless.

Lisa

 

[Chuck]

If it's not too much trouble, I'd take the pots out during the day so they can investigate the boxes, putting them back in the evening before they roost.

 

[Marigold]

This is sort of curtain Chris was telling about

This picture looks as if the nest boxes are getting a lot of light in from the back, anyway - would it perhaps be best to make them darker inside by addressing this? From the pic it looks almost as of the back part is open to the light, and the screens are having very little effect. Maybe the hatch has been left open to let in enough light to take the pic?
Glad the girls are getting the hang of it, this is normal- agree with Chuck about removing pots during the day for a while, but try leaving the pots out at night in a few days and then go down after dusk and check to see what they are doing. Plastic pots work just as well and are easier to lift in and out. Part of your chicken keeping equipment - you'll need them if one of the girls goes broody next year!

 

[damecluck]

Can't get my 3 girls to roost either! Have taken straw etc off floor of coop and just put newspaper down to see if this makes any difference.

 

[Marigold]

Hi, Damecluck, and welcome to the Forum.

How old are your girls, and how long have you had them? (young birds may never have had perches before they came to you.) Do they try to roost in the nestboxes or on the floor? what breed are they? (some of the heavier breeds like Orps do prefer to roost on the ground.) Are the perches wide enough, and a comfortable shape, with rounded edges? Any redmite?
If you have blocked the nestboxes at night, you will also need to go down after dark, take off the coop door quietly, and lift them up on to the perches. You may need to do this for several nights, especially if they have a strong habit of roosting on the floor, but one night you'll go down and they'll all be neatly lined up on a perch and your troubles will be over (but keep checking for a night or two, all the same.)
Newspaper is better than straw, easier to wrap up the droppings in the morning, and won't harbour redmite like straw can. Also, as you say, less cosy to snuggle into at night.

 

[tygrysek75]

This is sort of curtain Chris was telling about

This picture looks as if the nest boxes are getting a lot of light in from the back, anyway - would it perhaps be best to make them darker inside by addressing this? From the pic it looks almost as of the back part is open to the light, and the screens are having very little effect. Maybe the hatch has been left open to let in enough light to take the pic?
Glad the girls are getting the hang of it, this is normal- agree with Chuck about removing pots during the day for a while, but try leaving the pots out at night in a few days and then go down after dusk and check to see what they are doing. Plastic pots work just as well and are easier to lift in and out. Part of your chicken keeping equipment - you'll need them if one of the girls goes broody next year!

On the other side is acces to get the eggs without going to the cop and it was opened when making this picture this is why there is so much light,also my front wall was opened to unable to make this picture

 

[damecluck]

Result! Girls don't like sleeping on hard floor! Now roosting. Will probably stick to newspaper. As you say easier to clean up each day. My girls will be about 22 weeks now and are all laying. Eggs only small at moment but no doubt they will get bigger as time goes by. They are now very tame and quite easy to pick up when the grandchildren are around. Also if I want them to go to bed half an hour earlier I can now just pick them up and pop them in the coop. Just in the process of trying to put some tarpaulin up to fend off the rain before they get webbed feet!

 

[Marigold]

Glad you have a result! What sensible hens!
How secure is your run? If you are happy with it, you don't need to shut the pophole at night. It's best to let them go to bed when they like, and also to get up really early, when they're ready. Unless you are a very early riser, this will be before you are up, at this time of the year. If and when we get some proper hot weather, they won't like being shut up in a hot coop to wait for you to let them out, and they will be losing good feeding and daylight time.
Of course it depends on whether you see overnight predators as a threat, but if this seems OK, you don't have to worry about them getting cold at night etc, they will prefer the extra ventilation of an open pophole. I almost never shut mine, even in the depths of winter.