4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[ajm200]

I've not had too many problems with our chickens until about a forthnight ago when they all decided that they'd sleep in the nesting box every night. They look hilarious all 'stacked' up on top of one another but they make a terrible mess of the nesting box so I decided to take action...

 

I started putting a flowerpot in the nesting box after collecting the eggs so that they have to stay on the roosting bars. That's when the real trouble started

 

One of them decided that if she can't sleep in the nesting box she'll sleep under the stars and took to sleeping in the run on the wooden perch we've installed

 

thinking I'm smart.. I removed the perch... she took to sleeping on the floor of the run under the cube...

 

If i leave the nesting box clear she sleeps in the nesting box...

 

We've treated the bars for red mite just in case. The cube is throughly cleaned twice a week so isn't too smelly. The badly behaved chicken is top girl so she's not being bullied. I'm too pregnant to climb in the run every night and put her in the cube

 

Do I admit defeat?

[Laura & CTB]

 

Do I admit defeat?

 

I would

 

Sounds like she's a very determined chicken!

 

I put a flowerpot in the nest box one night to stop them sleeping in it but the next morning they were just balanced on top of the flower pot trying to make me feel guilty - I did and it came back out again!

 

Now I use aubiose topped with a bit of straw and it's quite easy to clean each day.

 

Why not give up the fight????

[..lay a little egg for me]

I had a few thoughts:

 

They do say that red mite can stop hens from wanting to go into the house at night. Maybe the treatment on the bars will do the trick. Maybe something more aggressive to treat the bars is needed? And my last thought is, how do they know its safe to go back in (i.e. the red mites have gone)? Maybe you do have to force them to go in so they find out its OK?

[Egluntyne]

I'd be surprised if it was redmite tbh.

 

You haven't had your cube that long, and the weather isn't that warm that redmite is likely to be a problem.

 

In any case, if it was redmite, they would all be complaining.

 

Maybe she is just contrary.

 

I'd let her sleep where she likes.

[meezers]

Just poo pick the nest box each day - it's got to be easier My Bluebelle goes to bed half an hour before the others so she can snag herself a nest box - silly chook hasn't realised that 4 of the others don't want the nestbox anyway , Pepper sleeps in the second nestbox and goes to bed with the others.

[superjules]

My SLW, Bossy, did this. A lot.

 

She'd sleep on top of the eglu in the walk-in run and drove me potty. Every night I'd go out there and it had to be at least an hour after dark otherwise she'd create merry hell when I moved her. She wouldn't let any of ther others roost with her though (my BPR liked to sleep under her wing at the time!), it was like she was keeping guard. Eventually, she changed her mind and decided of her own accord that the henhouse was a better place to sleep. She's just one of those fussy chooks who, if anything is out of place, she lets me know. I know it's probably not the most PC comment to make, but she behaves like she's autistic, in that she doesn't like being handled and can't cope with change. Have you moved the cube by any chance? Changing the angle of the eglu sets Bossy off.

 

On a hot night, some of my (slightly less neurotic) chooks prefer to sleep in the tree than in the henhouse.

 

As long as you are happy that you don't have redmite (and if the others are all sleeping/laying in there it's highly unlikely), I'd just leave her to it.