Nesting Box Question

[North_FL_Coops]

I have an Omlet Eglu and I'm considering getting the automatic door device, but I was curious about the door to the nesting area. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I've read that the door to the nesting area should also be closed at night to keep the hens in the roosting/sleeping area.

If that's the case, wouldn't I also need an automatic door closer for the door to the nesting area? (I don't see anything like that available, hence my confusion).

What would be the point of closing the coop door at night with a remote if I still need to go out to close the door to the nesting area?

Any advice/feedback is appreciated!

 

[Debbie292d]

Chickens will generally roost in the highest spot.

We have silkies so no roosts, and they sleep on top of the nest boxes or in them.

For the ones I don't want them in, I put an empty gallon milk jug in those.

I'd wait and see if it happens, as maybe it won't.

 

[SemiSweet2391]

Chickens will generally roost in the highest spot.

We have silkies so no roosts, and they sleep on top of the nest boxes or in them.

For the ones I don't want them in, I put an empty gallon milk jug in those.

I'd wait and see if it happens, as maybe it won't.

Wait silkies don’t roost?

 

[Chicken_tiger_catt]

Wait silkies don’t roost?

they usually don't, because they can't fly.

 

[Debbie292d]

Wait silkies don’t roost?

No, we tried. One would, but the others wouldn't so that one lost out and we took them out many years ago.

They have a ladder to get up to the nest boxes.

 

[SemiSweet2391]

they usually don't, because they can't fly.

Did not know that lol

 

[PoppasGrill]

We had the same issue with our Silkie Roo. He roosted in the nesting box and, if not cleaned daily, the hens wouldn’t lay in it due to him pooing in it.
We have a few hens that will roost on top of nest boxes, due to other aggressive hens on the bars or a Roo that she doesn’t want roosting near her.
Blocking off the nest boxes after collecting eggs is one method I’ve heard of, using a swiveling board that you can push up.
We hung some nest boxes a while back and got upset that the girls weren’t using them. Spent some time monitoring it and found that every time a hen tried to use the boxes a predatory rooster would jump up into the box with her and she would scramble out. Watched this happen with 3 hens and the same Roo over a few days.

 

[rosemarythyme]

If your birds are roosting reliably, they shouldn't be in the nest boxes at night unless they're broody. I keep some cardboard in my coop to cover nests but very rarely need to use it.

If they are, then cover the entrance to the nests before nightfall, and uncover again once it's completely dark so they can lay first thing in the morning

 

[febane]

I have an Omlet Eglu and I'm considering getting the automatic door device, but I was curious about the door to the nesting area. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I've read that the door to the nesting area should also be closed at night to keep the hens in the roosting/sleeping area.

If that's the case, wouldn't I also need an automatic door closer for the door to the nesting area? (I don't see anything like that available, hence my confusion).

What would be the point of closing the coop door at night with a remote if I still need to go out to close the door to the nesting area army pt score calculator?

Any advice/feedback is appreciated!

So I will be building some nest boxes for the first time. I have wanted to make wooden ones, because I have used a plastic one and it was too easy for the doe to throw around. I have a few questions about them though. First, I'm assuming untreated wood is needed. I will have to try and find some. Second, what is best for the floor? Is it better to have a solid wood bottom, a wire bottom, or no bottom(placed on a wire cage)? The weather here is mostly mild. In winter it doesn't get under 40 degrees Fahrenheit at the coldest. Does it need to have a roof?