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Barnyard Buddies:  nestbox roosting any ideas?  |
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RedHoopWoman
True Blue Farmgirl
513 Posts
Kathryn
Yoder
Colorado
USA
513 Posts |
 Posted - Feb 10 2012 : 1:38:29 PM
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I have three young chickens that are persistently roosting in the nestbox which fouls it for laying eggs,anyone have any ideas to break this kind of behavior or should I just cull these pullets?
One old timer said to catch them out of the box just after they start to roost for the night,tie their legs together with hay twine and hang them upside down for several nights,I wonder is this guy just fooling with my head or has anyone ever tried/heard of that?
Just wondering if anyone had any ideas or suggestions.
"Today's Mighty Oak is just Yesterday's Nut" |
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batznthebelfry
True Blue Farmgirl
1257 Posts
Michele
Athol
Ma
USA
1257 Posts |
Posted - Feb 10 2012 : 2:02:48 PM
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oh please honey do not do this to them....yes it will relax them but then they are upside down with blood rushing to their heads all night & thats just very stressful for a cure...as for the nesting boxes I have a few young ems that do this so I put in another nesting box...they can mess up the ones the want to roost in but now the top one is staying clean & the girls use it for laying eggs......usually its the smaller babies who get picked on that tend to use the nesting boxes to sleep in...they get pecked/picked on the perches so they go some place safe.....so easiest is to just put in another box of some sort for them & put in a egg so they see it & hopefully will use it....Michele'
Chickens rule!
The Old Batz Farm
Hen #2622
http://theoldbatzfarm.blogger.com |
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oldbittyhen
True Blue Farmgirl
1511 Posts
tina
quartz hill
ca
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - Feb 10 2012 : 3:29:18 PM
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they have these plastic strips that have rounded points ( not sharp) that people use to keep pigeons from roosting in their eves and such, you put them where the chickens want to roost, and its too uncomfortable to stand on them, so they don't, does not hurt them and does not stop the laying hens from going in...
hanging a chicken like that will cause dislocations and more, and is probaly some old wives tale, or worse...
"Knowlege is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad" |
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one_dog_per_acre
True Blue Farmgirl
1572 Posts
Trish
Sandpoint
ID
USA
1572 Posts |
Posted - Feb 10 2012 : 3:48:18 PM
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I am using a strip of chicken wire kind of fluffed over it.
“It always looks darkest just before it gets totally black.”-Charlie Brown |
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RedHoopWoman
True Blue Farmgirl
513 Posts
Kathryn
Yoder
Colorado
USA
513 Posts |
Posted - Feb 10 2012 : 3:52:05 PM
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Those are some good ideas thank you gals! I wasn't planning on hanging them like that don't worry,I was just sharing the only suggestion I've been given regarding the issue and I figured there had to be some better options! It's always the same three birds piled together in the same cubby of the nestbox which is of course the nestbox all the hens want to lay in so I like it to be clean.
"Today's Mighty Oak is just Yesterday's Nut" |
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sissarge
True Blue Farmgirl
502 Posts
Linda
Montgomery
Texas
USA
502 Posts |
Posted - Mar 01 2012 : 07:27:08 AM
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| My experience with this, is that eventually they grow out of it. We did as suggested above and added another nest box. This helped. We had two pullets whom I called the twins, that did everything together and looked identical, they would get in the nest box at night together. they were so cute, other than what they left behind for the hens to lay in. I once read to have a nest box for every 3 hens, not sure this is right, but we have increased our boxes, and all seems well. Michelle, have you heard how many nest boxes one should have? Linda Farmgirl #946 |
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Melina
True Blue Farmgirl
435 Posts
Melina
USA
435 Posts |
Posted - Mar 01 2012 : 08:09:20 AM
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You can go out after dark and move them to the spot where you want them and they'll tend to stay for the night. You can also do what the commercial free range houses do and put a closure on the box. It's a swivel-up perch that stays in the down position during the day and is put up into place during the night, blocking their entry to the nest. I'll see if I can find a picture of one on google.
The morning breeze has secrets to tell you. Do not go back to sleep.
Rumi |
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Melina
True Blue Farmgirl
435 Posts
Melina
USA
435 Posts |
Posted - Mar 01 2012 : 08:11:27 AM
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Just did a quick check on Google for "chicken nest box" and in the images there are several with this type of perch. If you are at all handy, it should be easy to add these to the existing box.
The morning breeze has secrets to tell you. Do not go back to sleep.
Rumi |
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Barnyard Buddies: nestbox roosting any ideas? |
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nestbox roosting any ideas?
