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

[Rachel H]

Everywhere I read it says you shouldn't let your chickens sleep in the nest. Mine always did so I put a small tray over the hole in the Eglu cube held up with another tray before they went to bed for the night. The chickens obviously then slept in the roosting part of the cube.

 

Now, with the darker evenings, I sometimes don't get to put the trays in before they go to bed and all three of them are snuggled up together in the straw. I have been moving them back into the roost and putting the trays up but now I'm wondering why??

 

None of the articles I've read say why they shouldn't sleep there. Is it just because they poo in the night? If that's the only reason it doesn't seem too much of a hardship for me to clean it out when I let them out in the morning. But, if there is another good reason I'd really like to know before I let them sleep in there.

 

Any suggestions???

[BeckyBoo]

Nope. There is no other reason other than pooey nest and pooey eggs! There's normally poo in our nest in the mornings too so I know that someone's sleeping there. Doesn't bother me much either, although there is one hen, not sure who, who make an ALMIGHTY mess

So if you're not bothered then I'd save yourself some work!

 

Mrs B

[Dodge]

From day one, my girls have always slept in the nest box in the cube.

They all snuggle up to each other and look really happy and content.

We poo pick every day and find very little mess on the eggs.

 

Each night when they have gone to bed, we take a small flashlight and open the egg port, check they are all present and correct and then wish them "goodnight girls"

 

I think to myself what would I prefare

Standing on a bit of wood all night or being all cosy in a nice bed of straw tucked up like turkeys.

 

No contest really

 

I just want my girls to have the very best life possible and therefore if they are happy, then so am I

 

Regards

 

Dodge

[..lay a little egg for me]

I'm sure I read somewhere that roosting on perches was better for their legs or something like that and so it's better if they don't sleep in the nestbox, but not sure...need to do some searching to see if I can find the article again...

[piptiddlepip]

Ours sleep in the nestbox and I've never bothered stopping them. They like it.

 

There is poo in there as a result, but we clean it up regularly so it isn't a problem. I think if you've got a problem rinsing the occasional tiny bit of poo off an egg then you're probably far too precious to be keeping chickens anyway.

[PurpleTree]

Glad someone else asked this, as I've been wondering the same thing. One of mine is definitely sleeping in the nest box as it's full of poo every morning. One of my mum's friends is an old fashioned sort of chicken keeper - told me off for naming them! He told me they wouldn't lay in the box if they were allowed to mess in it. As no one else seems to have this problem, I don't think I believe him. My 3 aren't laying yet.

 

I have read somewhere that they should roost to sleep and not sit, don't know what the reason was though. I put a little football in the nest box last night to try and get them all to roost, but it looks like the culprit managed to shift the ball enough to get in the box, as there seems to be more poo than ever in there this morning.

[sandyhas3chucks]

From day one, my girls have always slept in the nest box in the cube.

They all snuggle up to each other and look really happy and content.

We poo pick every day and find very little mess on the eggs.

 

Each night when they have gone to bed, we take a small flashlight and open the egg port, check they are all present and correct and then wish them "goodnight girls"

 

I think to myself what would I prefare

Standing on a bit of wood all night or being all cosy in a nice bed of straw tucked up like turkeys.

 

No contest really

 

I just want my girls to have the very best life possible and therefore if they are happy, then so am I

 

Regards

 

Dodge

Me too dodge my problem is the one that roosts! she poohs on the top of her friend

What do ytou with nest sleeprs put in the nests. paper see,s to get wet. straw had nasty beasties in it? Anyone put outher beds in an eglu?

[Olly]

I think if you've got a problem rinsing the occasional tiny bit of poo off an egg then you're probably far too precious to be keeping chickens anyway.

 

I agree with that sentiment, but can I just say that if you have TWO hens sleeping in the nestbox, and if you're sometimes away overnight or don't have time to clean the poop out, it's not just 'a tiny bit' ... the eggs are coated in it !

 

I don't stop mine sleeping in there because, as indicated above, I can't always be there to block it off/unblock it when necessary. It is really annoying though, they must be the two hens with the squidgiest bums cos it's 'orrible in there sometimes!

[3happyhens]

I hadn't realised they're not supposed to sleep in the nesting box! My little gingernut ranger has slept in there from the beginning (she goes off to bed before the other two) & all of them lay their eggs in the nesting box with no problem. She poos in the same place & they all manage to avoid it when laying, though I clear it out most days.

 

Nell

Gertie

Flo

1 cat

[..lay a little egg for me]

I found this on another forum...sounds plausible!

 

Their feet are designed to sit on a branch - as they originate from the jungle they would have slept in trees. Therefore always standing on the flat of their feet can cause limping, soreness etc.

They are also more susceptible to parasites on the ground as well as sitting in feces and attracting unwanted flies.

[Paola]

Me too dodge my problem is the one that roosts! she poohs on the top of her friend

 

 

One sleeps/hogs the nest and the other perches on the side

[sheik]

Perhaps years of being on a flat surface might be bad for a chicken.

But, I would imagine that provided they have perches to use during the day their feet will be OK if they want to sleep in the nest.

 

Currently I have two bantams that tend to nest together in the straw - the bigger hybrids have always preferred to perch.

 

/\dam

[chickenanne]

The only issues I see with sleeping in the nest box is getting dirty eggs, and also the increased risk of broken eggs /egg eating if you're not there to gather all the eggs before they go to bed.

 

I too have heard that as adults it's more "natural" for them to perch and encourages better bone/joint health (I think in an old practical Poultry magazine). Young birds do need to be taught to roost sometimes - i.e. you lift them out the nestbox and put them onto the perches, which is what we did with ours when we first got them. BUT to me, so long as they have somewhere suitable available for perching to roost overnight, and they know what it's for (!) then if they choose not to use it, then it's hardly doing them much harm.

[Sandychick]

Looks like I might be on my own here - I have to admit that I hated picking up a heap of poo with my nice eggs! There is no way that I would be organised enough to clean out the next box at 6:30am before work so they would lay eggs in the poo. Now I'm collecting the eggs in the dark, I would have to rummage about in their poo to get the eggs.

 

I also think that they might not want to snuggle into poo when they lay the eggs, nice clean auboise seems nicer for them......am I being daft?? I discouraged mine with a football in the next box for a few nights and they haven't slept in there since.

[Lisa]

I put a ceramic plant pot in the nest box and the girls seem quite happy. Gerry would sleep in the nest if given the chance but now roosts with the other two and they all seem content. The nest stays clean too!!

[jlo]

I am really pleased that you posted this question because I had been wondering if I was a terrible chicken mum for letting Tango sleep in the nest box.

 

She isn't in there all the time. If I fluff up the straw, she doesn't seem to find it as comfy. I stopped using aubiose in the box as she was in there every night when I did. Tonight,they are both huddling together on the bars for warmth! If I were them, I would probably prefer to be in the nest box when it is snowing outside!

[helenmb]

I found that once my lot started to lay that they then decided to roost on the bars rather than on the nest. So for now I have a clean nest. My two (sadly RIP) original girls occasionally nest hogged but like a lot of people just left them to it and just washed the eggs well when I collected them. They still layed in the nest even though it was sometimes a bit pooey.

[Old Speckled Hen]

All four sleep in the nest box amply padded with Flax bedding. In fact I shortened the perch to accommodate a second box.

I mix up their mash in the morning, switch off the Foxwatch, open the pop hole and while they are eating I clean out the coop which is lined with newspaper ... I just throw it away and replace. Takes 2 minutes and I can do it in my sleep .... sometimes I think I have ...

[sandyhas3chucks]

DA.. what is flax bedding please. is it like easibed & auboise? or softer..?

[Old Speckled Hen]

DA.. what is flax bedding please. is it like easibed & auboise? or softer..?

 

Hi Sandy

It's like softer finer woodchip, very similar to aubiose but composts wonderfully in half the time, especially as it has chicken poo with it when you compost it.

I've tried Hemcore, Woodchip and Aubiose and I prefer it.

I get it online here;

 

http://www.gjwtitmuss.co.uk/HORSE-BEDDING/pid5233/cid358/ROYALSPAN-FLAX-BEDDING-120-LITRES.asp