Nest Box Access Questions

[KHBaker]

Good morning! When I put my 6 hens in the coop, I blocked off the nest boxes so that they couldn't use them to roost in/sleep in. They are currently 11 weeks old, and are Black and Red Sex Links. At what age should I turn the nest boxes around? Should I wait until 18 weeks when they are closer to laying?
Thanks!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Where are they sleeping now? Mine normally transition to the roosts at night about that age, though I've had some broods start earlier or later. Chickens normally like to sleep at the highest point they can get to so hopefully your roosts are higher than the nests. Of course like everything else chickens there can be exceptions, I'll get to that. If they have been sleeping on the roosts for a week they should be in that habit.

I've had pullets start to lay as early as 16 weeks. Instead of 18 weeks, I'd target 16 as the latest to have the nests open. A little earlier is better.

I personally want the nests open as early as possible. If I'm going to have a problem with them sleeping in the nests or other problems I want to know it so I can fix the problem well before they are ready to lay. I never closed the nests with my first chicks and never had any problems with them sleeping in the nests. Since I had adults laying after that I do not close the nests and lock the laying hens out. You do not have to block the nests at all but as long as they are open in time for you to fix problems before they start to lay it does not hurt.

A lot of pullets and hens like to rearrange the bedding when they go into a nest to lay. They do that by scratching. Often (not always but often) a pullet will search for a place to lay a few days before she starts. If you find your bedding on the coop floor that generally means your nest needs work, usually you need to raise the lip so they don't scratch out the bedding, fake eggs, or real eggs. It's not just the chickens sleeping in the nest that can be a problem, you may need to reconfigure your nests.

There are two main reasons you might find chickens sleeping in your nests. If your roosts are not noticeably higher than the nests, the nests might be the preferred highest sleeping spot. That happens too often in those prefab coops, the roosts just aren't significantly higher than the nests. Or maybe the people building the coop aren't aware of it. Or if you have Silkies that can't fly they may have trouble getting up there. Roost configuration may be wrong for your flock.

My chickens are most brutal toward each other on the roosts as they are settling in for the night. Where they sleep is determined by the pecking order, the ones higher in the pecking order sleep wherever they want and can be pretty brutal toward any in their way. And occasionally you can get one that is particularly brutal toward one or a few specific hens or pullets. Sometimes the ones lower in the pecking order get tired of being brutalized and look for a safer place to sleep. That safer place just might be your nests.

If your coop is big enough these are usually not that hard to fix once you identify the problem. If you do experience a problem get back to us with specifics of what is happening and a good description of your coop, especially nests and roosts. Photos can really help. If you have sufficient roost space and the roosts are higher than the nets you generally don't have this problem to begin with but there can always be eceptions.

 

[KHBaker]

Hi, thank you for your response! Right now they are sleeping in a 12 x 12 converted barn stall. We have two roosts for them, one is a wooden ladder (they use this during the day), and an old park bench (most of the time they sleep here). Both are higher than the nest boxes, which sit on a 4 inch high board to keep it off of the shavings. But there are some rungs of the ladder which are lower than the top of the nest box.

If they are scratching at the shavings on the coop floor and sitting in it, does this mean that they are close to laying? We got them from TSC, so honestly their age is unknown to us. I've noticed in the past few days that there are little holes dug out of the shavings (shavings are 6 inches thick), and the girls are laying in the different holes.

 

[Ridgerunner]

From what you describe you should be in great shape. It's the top rungs that matter not the lower unless they are really short. They may wind up using that park bench anyway.

No that does not mean they are close to laying. That is just sort of dust bath behavior. There are several clues that they might be about to lay, but those are only clues. Every one can be wrong. The only real way to know is when you see an egg. That can be a pleasant unexpected early surprise or it can be a frustrating wait. I've had plenty of both.

 

[KHBaker]

Thank you for all of your help!