[daisy1990]

I have seen several posts explaining how to stop/ discourage hens from sleeping in the nest box.  Why is this a problem?  My three sleep in their attached nest box although they have three poles to roost on

Thanks Daisy

[Junie]

Mainly it is the mess that they make, they poop in their nest boxes which then ends up on the eggs.

[Aunt Sally]

I've always had hens sleeping in the nest box.  I remove the poos first thing in the morning - clean eggs


Now let me see, hard cold stick / comfy nest box  -  Hmmm... decisions decisions

[Junie]

Now let me see, hard cold stick / comfy nest box  -  Hmmm... decisions decisions

And people say chickens are stupid!!

[Beano]

The three old girls sleep in a nest box each and the two youngster roost. Every morning i poo pick. The tree oldies look so snug snoozing in their nest, it seems a shame to move  them. Allowances are made for their age. I would encourage the youngsters to roost though.

[compostqueen]

My girls are the same. They do like their bowl shaped nesting box in the Eglu. I expect it's warmer there as well. I have to clean it out first thing nearly every day. I told them off this morning as it was so bad. Tut 

[otis pony]

Hi, my girls sleep in their nest box too. I have one that roosts, I find it easier to clean the nest box in the morning than poo pick the coop. Both the girls and I prefer it that way!!

[Caralou]

I have two coops - an ark with no perches and a new larger coop with perching bars - and my oaps refuse to live in the new coop and perch. For two weeks every night I moved them to the new coop and in the morning there would be all three in one nest box (there were three to choose from but they like to cuddle up!). At night they would all stand outside the ark rosey to get in. In the end I gave in and have let them remain in their little ark snuggled together in the deep hemp bedding.

[girliesx4]

Agree with the responses here - as lon as you poo pick evey morning i cannot see that there is a problem.  I usually have 3 sleeping in the nest boxes - 2 on top of the boxes and 4 on the perches - and they all change position everynight

[daisy1990]

how helpful you all are- thank you!  I also clean the box every morning and since they still haven't laid me an egg yet, that isn't a consideration at the moment!

[compostqueen]

They'll reward you for being so comfortable with lovely eggs, any day now 

[chuckmad]

I had one hen sleeping in a nest box and she got a horrible eye infection cos she was facing in the direction of another hen's backside. I blocked up the next box at night for a week or so and she stopped using.
Now she has started using the other nest box, which is not in view of a backside. So the question is do I start blocking the next box at night or let her be as long as her surroundings are clean?

[jinty1911]

I have 3 chicks and 2 out of 3 have gone broody so I block off the nest box at night but they just sit on the floor.  I keep going out and putting them back on the roost but they just move again as soon as I've gone. In the morning there is only 1 pile of droppings in house.  Why dont other 2 poop until I move them out of house in the morning? Very strange.   

[Fisherman]

One of my hens always wants to sleep in the nest box as its at the bottom of the pecking order and tends to get a bit of beating when going up to perch so hides out of the way. However I keep trying to get it to perch with the other so I board up the nest boxes at night then take it off after an hour or so after dark and all birds appear happy . The other night I left the board on by mistake and what a racket they made the following morning. To say the hens weren't happy that they couldn't get in the nest boxes would be an under statement. One had actually squeezed through a small gap, laid an egg and then got out again which was hard to believe (now renamed Houdini). I will probably leave the one that likes to go in the nest box to roost wherever it wants shortly as the battle has now been going on for too long (months).

[Debsie]

two of mine snuggle up in the nest box, the other two snuggle in a corner of the house on the floor, perches completely unused, given up blocking off nest box also tried putting them on the perch whilst sleepy, they were not impressed!!