Warm boot recommendations please

[Chuckyegg]

Hi The nesting box in my cube seems to be the chosen over-nighting place for 4 of my girliies! And another sits in the circular seperating panel! Does anyone else have this prob? I'm sure it's cosy but I have to change the straw a lot!

 

Thanks

[Olly]

I don't have a Cube, but I have this problem with the Eglu. As of two nights ago, I've been putting a flower-pot in there (apparently a football also works well, but I didn't have one!) I have to make sure I remember to take it out first thing in the morning, but if you do this for a few nights then supposedly they should get out of the habit, and go back to roosting on the bars.

[moochoo]

I found out that a small tub trug fits perfectly in the hole of the dividing panel acting like a plug. You could plug the hole at bed time and open it up in the morning.

[buffie]

Mine do this and I don't use straw but lay newspaper down. In the morning I change the newspaper and hey presto all neat and tidy. I just see it as them needing their own space and why not

 

BBx

[Helen&Lee]

I don't have any sleeping in the nesting box, but my Blue Brahma roosts on the circular entrance to it every night

I like to think its because she wants to be the one that gets the fuss when I open the egg port to stroke her

 

Helen

[Snowy]

Two of mine sleep in the nest box and a third sleeps in the hole.

[Chickybaby]

Sorry if this is a dumb question but why do some people have a problem with their hens sleeping in the nest box? Babs always manages to bag the nest box before the other two....I assumed it's because she finds it more comfortable than perching on the roosting bars. Mind you, my 3 girls are ex-bats so i let them do what they want seeing as they've had a hard life.

[ubereglu]

Muddle and Starlet have been really silly when going to bed these past few nights. Starlet is severely moulting and only looks slightly better than a recovering battery hen feather-wise and she's a bit bald in places. So she snuggles up next to Muddles who has gone to roost in the nestbox!

[ktdot]

Mine always sleep in the nest box, very often on top of each other, although they may be spreading out a bit during the night now as there are more poops under the roosting bars in the morning. The nest box used to look like a litter tray! Thank goodess for Hemcore, a few scoops of my value slotted spoon (30 odd p well spent!!) and it's all set for another day!

[Olly]

Sorry if this is a dumb question but why do some people have a problem with their hens sleeping in the nest box?.

 

No such thing as a dumb question on here ... it's because of the poo! On the bars, it mostly drops through - but in the nest box it just piles up. And it makes the eggs all mucky if you don't get there in time to clean it out before they lay!

[Guest]

Same here, 2 in the nesting box and one in the hole. A couple of nights the "hole" girl has got in first and being top chook the others have had to sleep on the roosting bars. Which has caused me a problem.

 

The reason I havn't tried to stop them sleeping in the box is that June lays before we open up in the morning (before it's light!). On the 2 nights she has been unable to sleep in the box she has laid on the bars and the first time the egg didn't make it.

 

Oh and this week her eggs have been getting larger and larger.