Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: RoyMK on July 08, 2009, 11:20
-
My 4 ladies insist on cuddling up each evening in the nest box.
They are not yet laying but should be soon, I have tried blocking the box off but as soon as you open it again their back in. I have tried to coach them back on to the perch but they just go back.
I don't want to distress them as they should be at POL
Is poo on the eggs all I need to worry about or will they damage any eggs laid at night if they persist to roost in the box.
Should I let them be and add another box in the coop for them to lay in ore do you think they will just take the mick and kip in there as well?
Has anyone else had this problem?
-
lots of us have had this problem :D, I still have one who absolutely refuses to roost on a perch so I now leave her alone. My nest boxes are internal and if I block them off she will just sleep on top of it or on the floor. just make sure you get up early before they start laying and clean the nest boxes out (eggs are usually but not always, laid during the day). In my main shed I have three nest boxes but they all lay in the same one, often queueing up getting very noisy as if to tell whoever is in there to hurry up (just think of a load of women on a coach trip queueing at the services all moaning about the lack of toilets and you'll get my drift :lol: :lol: ).
-
one of my 8 insists on sleeping in the nest box . its just a case of getting up at 6am to remove her poos before i get my first egg about 8 ish . Despite having 2 decent perches the other 7 insist on sleeping on top of the nest boxes . what can you do . crazy animals
-
I have had this problem from the start. One roosts, one settles down under the perch (foolish) and the other insists on bedding down in the nest box. There are two nest boxes attached to the coop but all three chickens only want to use that one to lay in. How perverse! So I have to scoop them all up onto the perch together at night. It's part of the goodnight ritual now :)
-
3 of my warrens that are at my parents never ever us the nest box!
-
maybe if they are used to sleeping in that nest box, adding another to lay eggs in might work. My 12 have 6 nest boxes and one of them sleeps in 1 box, they lay in the rest. I did remove most of the straw from the one they sleep in to hopefully make it less comfy for laying, it seems to have worked. If they take to sleeping in the new nest box, well, they are just being naughty for the sake of it!