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Author Topic: Chicken poop in nest boxes - solved?  (Read 3967 times)

Offline GSF

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Chicken poop in nest boxes - solved?
« on: April 25, 2014, 06:40:53 am »
My chicken house is pretty big - considering. It's about 8'x8' and 7 or 8ft tall with a slope. My nest boxes are built on the sides to be accessible from outside the chicken house. You simply lift the lid exposing 3 nests at a time. (12 nests).

For reasons unknown to me, my chickens poop like crazy in the nest at night. They have a roost from the ground to the top slanted as you enter the house. I have a strap so I can raise and secure the roost when I clean it out. In an attempt to solve this problem I added another roost per say in front of the nests. Worked some.

So the other night as I was securing the pen(maximum security chicken prison) I started to let the nest lids down, then the thought occurred "if I leave them up maybe they won't roost in the nest". It worked. I guess they don't like being exposed to the outside when they sleep. This is day three without any early morning chicken poop in the nest.
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Offline Intheswamp

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Re: Chicken poop in nest boxes - solved?
« Reply #1 on: April 25, 2014, 10:13:41 am »
<chuckle>  I hear you on the "maximum security chicken prison" part.  Is your coop where it can be locked down completely, also?...a prison within a prison?  I had to put off getting chickens several years ago due to inheriting two of my mother's dogs.  One recently died, so I'm entertaining the thought again.  I'm looking at Woods' "Fresh-Air" coops/houses.  Woods' concepts appear sound, down in my area we have no great problem with extreme cold but rather heat and humidity issues.

I'm glad to hear you worked it out, the ladies don't like a draft on their posteriors, eh?  :laugh:

Ed
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Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Chicken poop in nest boxes - solved?
« Reply #2 on: April 25, 2014, 12:44:10 pm »
My chicken house is pretty big - considering. It's about 8'x8' and 7 or 8ft tall with a slope. My nest boxes are built on the sides to be accessible from outside the chicken house. You simply lift the lid exposing 3 nests at a time. (12 nests).

For reasons unknown to me, my chickens poop like crazy in the nest at night. They have a roost from the ground to the top slanted as you enter the house. I have a strap so I can raise and secure the roost when I clean it out. In an attempt to solve this problem I added another roost per say in front of the nests. Worked some.

So the other night as I was securing the pen(maximum security chicken prison) I started to let the nest lids down, then the thought occurred "if I leave them up maybe they won't roost in the nest". It worked. I guess they don't like being exposed to the outside when they sleep. This is day three without any early morning chicken poop in the nest.

It sounds likebut i rather doubt it but does this leave an access for predator's to get in. Don't quite understand your design.
Jim
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Offline Intheswamp

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Re: Chicken poop in nest boxes - solved?
« Reply #3 on: April 25, 2014, 02:29:26 pm »
I think there is a strong fence around the perimeter, thus the "maximum security" statement.  At least that's the way I took it but was the reason I inquired about the coop itself being where it could be locked down completely if needed...a double barrier.

Ed
www.beeweather.com 
American blood spilled to protect the freedom and peace of people all over the world.  320,000 USA casualties in WWI, 1,076,000 USA casualties in WWII, 128,000 USA casualties in the Korean War, 211,000 casualties in the Vietnam "conflict", 57,000 USA casualties in "War on Terror".  Benghazi, Libya, 13 USA casualties. These figures don't include 70,000 MIA.  But, the leaders of one political party of the United States of America continue to make the statement..."What difference does it make?".

"We can't expect the American People to jump from Capitalism to Communism, but we can assist their elected leaders in giving them small doses of Socialism, until they awaken one day to find that they have Communism."..."The press is our chief ideological weapon." - Nikita Khrushchev

"Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they wont come to yours." - Yogi Berra

Offline GSF

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Re: Chicken poop in nest boxes - solved?
« Reply #4 on: April 25, 2014, 10:38:37 pm »
The inmates can be housed under double lockdown (lol) It's pretty tight. I have the yard 25'x30' or so completely enclosed top and bottom with chicken wire. Around the exterior of the chicken yard fence I also have dog pen wire incorporated with the chicken wire. The dog wire also comes down to the ground and goes out about 3 or 4' on top of the ground covered with leaves. (prevents digging under)

The coop itself has locks on everything that can be opened. In addition it also has some one inch mesh galvanized wire nailed to it at the bottom and also runs along the top of the ground for about 3 feet. Each entrance has wire running under the doors so nothing can dig under the doors. Each door/entrance has two locks - latches, at the top and bottom.

We also let them free range down in the woods for about a half day each day. The back entrance lets out in the goat pen (14 acres +/-) We have chicken wire running the front side of the goat pen now so they are less inclined to come through the fence and tear the yard up, among other things.
When the law no longer protects you from the corrupt, but protects the corrupt from you - then you know your nation is doomed.

Offline itsme

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Re: Chicken poop in nest boxes - solved?
« Reply #5 on: April 28, 2014, 12:44:57 pm »
The only time I have trouble with poop in our nest boxes is when the girls want to spend the night roosting there.  The only time they want to do that is when I introduce some new girls to the old ones.  The new ones will try to get up high to sleep and also away from the "mean" hens that are claiming the best roosting places. 

Depending on how many girls are setting/laying, and thus the availability of open boxes for others to lay fresh eggs, I will close off the highest of the nest boxes (which are the ones that are most attractive for alternate sleeping) until I can get them all sleeping on the roost at night.  By closing them off I mean I cut a board to fit across the row and fixed it so I can easily install or remove it as needed.