Laying out of a new coop....

[Smoggy67]

Hi again, woke up this morning to 11 happy girls - but as I expected "no eggs".

My query is - whats the best way to encourage them to roost at night and only use boxes for laying?

All 11 slept in the 4 boxes last night - not one roosted?

This means there is poop where there shouldn't be poop, if ya get my drift.
Im also concerned that if the lay in the boxes, the eggs will get trodden on..

Any advice, as always - will be grabbed with both hands..

SMOG

[pdblake]

Pick 'em up and pop 'em on the perch. They'll soon get the idea after a couple of nights.

[Eco-Chic]

I put newspaper under the perches last night to see if they are using them at all and to try and make underneath the perches less comfy (there are shavings at the back of the coop though).

Haven't examined yet as I'm blind as a bat until I put my contact lenses in and I'm bumbling around without them cos my eyes are sore.

[shirlthegirl43]

I shut off the nest boxes at night so that nobody can sleep in them.

[Eco-Chic]

I couldn't tell if the perches had been used cos the neatly banked shavings I put in yesterday had been kicked and strewn all over the coop. Such untidy gels tsk

Success tonight though. Maud, (or it might have been Madge) hopped up on the perch to scoff the little piles of corn I'd pinched on to it.

Myrtle and Madge, (or maybe it was Maud) have decided to roost under the perch that Maud (or Madge is on)

Is it very difficult to scrape chook guano off feathers

[frias]

3 of my ex-batts perch and 3 sleep cuddled up together. I'm sure yours will soon learn not to sleep under a perch! I used to block off the nest boxes but couldn't get up early enough to unblock before laying commenced. Not very often they sleep in a nest box now but if I find one in there after they have all gone to bed I just give nudge and they move off. I usually check them late anyway as I look for redmite at night.

[Eco-Chic]

They can sleep wherever they are happiest as long as they know enough to make a choice. I haven't put a nest box in because they aren't laying yet and until they try the perch they're bound to crush together in a nest box.

I haven't been troubled with redmite yet as the coop was creocoted the week before I bought it. I have been sprinkling Diatom on their bedding, the newspaper and the earth floor in the run and I have a huge container of Smite ready for the evil day.

[Smoggy67]

Cheers gang, really like the tie corn to perch tip..

My main concern is they lay the eggs thenthe egg gets trod on...guess i'll have to monitor it and adjust accordingly...