Britannia Ovens (esp Range cookers) your experience

[jackiek]

Anyone have experience with their chickens sleeping in the nesting area? I have four chickens (with two more to follow soon) residing in the Cube (with 2 m run). Two, a Black Australorp and a Buff Orpington, are older (19 weeks old) and the first to be introduced to the cube. The other two, Blue Laced Red Wyandottes (12 weeks old), were introduced a few weeks ago. After a few testy weeks, the four seem to have settled in with one another. The Wyandottes always get to enter the coop the last as the Black Australorp would not let them in till it is really quite dark. Anyhow, I discovered lately that the BLRW have been sleeping in the nesting area and suspected that the BA chased them in there. I thought I would check tonight and perhaps move them into the roosting area when dark. Well, when I looked in there, all four chickens are there! I am pretty sure that the BA and BO didn't use to sleep in the nesting area. The two of them plus the three that turned out to be roosters (which I rehoused to somewhere else) were in the roosting area.

 

I'm wondering if I should try to make them sleep in the roosting area. Would they lay their eggs in there if they sleep in there? It is full of poop in the morning.

[kinsk]

When I had 3 in and eglu they used to sleep in the nesting area, and as you say it gets full of poo so when they start laying their eggs in there they end up filthy too.

 

I used to put an upturned plant pot in the nest in the evening and take it out in the morning.

[Cheeky Chooky]

At least one of my girls sleeps in the nest of the Usually it's Dotty and I just clear any poo out in the morning. I do put a football in the nest area of the though as the Silkies are mucky little monkeys!