Keeping them out the nest box, poo on eggs

[HoofyLoo]

Hello everyone
I've not been on here in a while but I need a bit of advise. I have four chickens and they all seem adamant on sleeping in the nest box. This is resulting in eggs getting covered in poo. I've been cleaning the eggs when I bring them in but I'm aware they may be getting contaminated.
Any suggestions? Is this normal behaviour? I leave the pop door open so could it be they're cold and sleeping as far back in the coop?



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[RedThorn]

Try closing the nest box area off at night. Girls roosting in nest box is the usual culprit

[kathyd]

Hi HoofyLoo. If it's possible to close the nest box off at night I'd certainly try that. I leave my pop door open too (although the coop is inside an outbuilding so hopefully less draughts...), but I've stapled black bin liner across the opening, cut into strips to make it easy to get through, to cut down on the light a bit. Might be worth a try? Also, how big is your coop? If it's a large coop with only a few birds, maybe they're warmer in the nest box? Only 2 of mine currently sleep inside a coop for 6-8 birds, and they do snuggle in the nest box on colder nights, I must admit. If you have a big coop, I don't know how practical it would be to section off a corner for them if your weather is very cold (probably a daft idea, I don't know).

The other thing you can do of course is to clean out the nest box first thing in the morning before they start to lay. And if they have very fluffy bottoms, you can trim the feathers around the vent to keep things a bit cleaner. Talking of which, I've got a bird that needs a bit of a trim at the moment!

[Scarlet]

As the others have said really, board the nesting boxes off or you can wait until they have settled in for the night and go in, pick them up and place them on the perch.

[Bill HH]

As the others have said really, board the nesting boxes off or you can wait until they have settled in for the night and go in, pick them up and place them on the perch.

That is what we used to do, go in and fetch them out after dark and put them on their perch, doing that a couple of times usualy cures it.

[Scarlet]

Bill, that's what I do with my little ones, it's not good them sleeping on the floor especially if they have another chicken above them!! It really doesn't take them long to learn.

[HoofyLoo]

Thanks everyone! Well I gave them a good clean yesterday and opened the doors to their coop to air it. I only forgot to shut it up so the poor ladies had a roof but no walls last night. They were shouting about it this am but some corn and a broccoli stem seems to have won them around. I'll try turfing them out of their next box. It's one of those wooden kit things which says 8 chooks but I can't see how they'd fit in! I have four. they are in a much larger run by the way


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[Ja9]

I know this thread is a year old but I am having a persisting problem with this now.I have 6 chickens in an Omlet cube and about 4 choose to pile up on each other in the nesting box.If I turf them out,they sneak back in when I have gone.Closing it off every night ( with a ball of chicken wire) is tricky as one girl tries to lay very early,before it's even daylight.Sometimes on the roosting bars or settles in amongst the chicken wire in the nesting box if she can.After several months of this I risked not closing the nesting box off last night and it was full of poo. Sunday morning isn't a problem as I can clean it out but this is not feasible in the dark when I leave for work at 7.30.
In the Summer when it's warm I leave the pop hole open at night and won't be going out at 4 am to open a nesting box!help..any other ideas I could try please?

[Glutton4...]

As KathyD said, hanging vertical strips of black plastic across the nest-box openings works a treat. I've done it in the past. However, having never seen an Omlet in the flesh, I don't know if this is feasible or not. Hoicking them out the nest-box of an evening, just when they've got comfy, is worth the effort for the first week, and periodically afterwards, too, as they soon get back into their old ways.

I once housed my Chooks in a redundant Stable, and had the nest-boxes outside in the run. That worked well until winter, when the rats discovered them, and would steal the eggs. To cure that, I let the Cockerel have access to the nest-box area, thinking that would deter the rats. Disaster! Not only did the Cockerel wait for those who were in lay, and r*pe them as soon as they stepped outside the nest-box but he started stealing the ruddy eggs himself.

You do have to accept that even if you cure one thing, there will always be something that'll drive you bonkers!

[mothhawk]

My thought is they don't like the slatted floor and so are sleeping on the solid floor of the nest box.
Either try making the roosting area a solid floor (you could experiment with thick cardboard first to see if they would use it), or get a piece of 2x2 wood and round off the edges, or even a thin tree branch, and wedge it in as a proper perch - it doesn't need to be far off the floor, just so they can curl their toes round. I think you'll find they will be much happier.

[Ja9]

Good idea mothhawk, I will try it.They didn't have an issue with that in the past though.think it might have started when one of them was being bullied by the top hen and the others followed. Including her..so no logic in that!will start with the black plastic strips Glutton4 and should be easy to attach to the round plastic opening.I have unceremoniously chucked them out but they do sneak back in

[fishpond]

"any other ideas I could try please?"

Leave them to do what they want, its the only way.

Piling on top of each other, they may be too cold.

[Bill HH]

"any other ideas I could try please?"

Leave them to do what they want, its the only way.

Piling on top of each other, they may be too cold.

I wanna tell you a story Re piling on top of each other in a nest, We had some 20'x10' sheds with 100 birds per shed, there was a pop hole leading to anothere section which had the nest boxes in. This was to keep the nest area darker and make it easy to shut the nests off if needed. We had a new lad working for us and he was a bit scared of chickens so he decided to shut this pop hole so he could collect the eggs undisturbed. But he forgot to open it again. Next morning we discovered an awful sight, against this pop hole the birds had clambered to get through the closed pop hole, the urge to lay in the nests was so powerful they must have piled on top of each other. 20 dead birds and dozens of eggs lay there. So piling up may not be the cold just an urge to lay.
When birds sleep in nests we used to pull them out after dark and chuck them on the perching area, if its dark they are none to keen to leave the rest of the flock, You might have to do this a few times however.

[suefduma]

keeping hens out of nest box

I know this thread is a year old but I am having a persisting problem with this now.I have 6 chickens in an Omlet cube and about 4 choose to pile up on each other in the nesting box.If I turf them out,they sneak back in when I have gone.Closing it off every night ( with a ball of chicken wire) is tricky as one girl tries to lay very early,before it's even daylight.Sometimes on the roosting bars or settles in amongst the chicken wire in the nesting box if she can.After several months of this I risked not closing the nesting box off last night and it was full of poo. Sunday morning isn't a problem as I can clean it out but this is not feasible in the dark when I leave for work at 7.30.
In the Summer when it's warm I leave the pop hole open at night and won't be going out at 4 am to open a nesting box!help..any other ideas I could try please?

Hi, we have an Omlet cube and 6 hens, and had a similar problem, but found if we put a shallow tray, such as a cats litter tray, across the opening at night, they stay on the roosting bars, but will push the tray aside in the morning to lay if I haven't moved it away before then. Its worth a try.

[Ja9]

I'll try the tray.leaving them just to 'do their own thing' isn't terribly practical as they are somewhat prolific in dirtying the nesting area and the eggs would be uneatable.
Very sad with yours Bill HH.
It's also not related to temperature as it was about 14 degrees the others night!