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

[urmandkiran]

help!

 

3 out of 6 of my chickens are sleeping in the nesting box

they are pooing in there and it is quite nasty for those who want to lay in the morning

how can i prevent them sleeping in there?

 

incidentally the 3 that are sleeping in the nesting box are the new hens!

 

any advice will be welcome

 

thanks x

[sallyj]

I put in a plastic divider in the nest box at night time and that seems to work so the nest box stays clean of poo. I just have to remember to remove it in the morning! It works for me.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

You can put a football or upturned flowerpot in the nestbox at night to stop them sleeping in there .

 

You may find they get out of the habit eventually anyway!

 

Welcome to the forum, by the way .

[urmandkiran]

Thanks guys i'll try that

[K-F-C]

I just post them back into the bedroom before I go to mine... and they seem to stay there!

[fluffyknickers]

Hi, I live in chelmsford too!

 

Mine all used to sleep in the nest box and poo in there too. In the morning when I get the eggs out I also do a little poo pick and the aubiose stays pretty clean (aubiose is brilliant!). Then once a week I depending on how dirty it is I either have a good pooh pick or change the whole lot.

 

In the summer and as they got older they perch more on the bars although the nest area has been full up with my broody!

 

Personally I didnt put anything like a football or pot in but you could give it a go.

 

Michelle

[Rhesus]

Mine are doing this at the moment. The two new ones are in there as a bit of security for each other as the original three were stamping their authority. I am going to leave it a little bit longer, but I've just popped my head in and they're all trying to stick together, even though they're still avoiding each other during the day. I like the football idea though, see what happens.

 

Doris

Hilda

Marjorie

Grace

Elsie

[BocBoc]

Oh heavens - our chooks have always done this - is it a problem I always check for eggs in the morning and if there is any poo on the straw in the nesting box I just give it a turn over. We clean the eglu once a week (usually on a Saturday) and do at least two straw changes/sweep the droppings tray out inbetween proper cleans. We rarely have poo on our eggs and if we do, I just wipe it off with some kitchen towel.

 

[JanTheDiver]

I am in Chelmsford too, didn't realise there were so many Omleteers in Chelmsford!

 

I have had my girls nearly two weeks now and they have always slept in the nest box, I don't find it a problem.

 

I have got in the habit of filling water pots, food pots and poo picking the next box every morning once they are out. There is never that much anyway; mine are on Elephant grass and it is easy to remove any poo, even curry sauce ones.

 

Welcome to the forum, it becomes addictive watch out!!

 

Jan

[attenbhp]

I had this happen a lot.

 

I put a divider in my cube - an old plastic chopping board hinged on a screw with a bit of string attached.

I close it before they go to bed, and open it again once it's dark.

 

They don't seem to move around much once it's dark, so they only go in there now if I forget to close it.

 

What is funny is, if I forget to open it, they climb over the divider, lay their eggs, and climb out again.