Sorrrrrrry, I have another Chicken question.....

[ladytophamhatt]

Should I stop them from sleeping in teh nesting box?

and if so, how??

I'm presuming they're not laying yet? If not, then you can block off the nesting box with a piece of cardboard and sellotape! If they are laying, then you could just do that at night. Having said that, there isn't actually a problem with them sleeping in the nestbox, just means more poo to clean out in the morning, to keep the eggs clean.

Woudl they generally move out once they start laying then?

or will I have ready scrambled eggs?

What I mean is that you don't want to block off the nesting box if they're laying, because you don't want to discourage them laying in there! But you can get them into the habit of roosting on the bars instead before they start laying.

I've just been up there to look and they are all in teh nesting box.

all 8 of them!
the last one just its head and shoulders in there because there no more room.

I think I'll block it off tomorrow night...too late now obviously but hopefull one or 2 nights roosting properly will teach them where to sleep properly.

Are they laying yet? how long to they take to start laying after you get them, assuming you get them at POL.
ladyTHH you made my dh PHSL.

I spent weeks putting the plonkers on their perch every night. Have now given up and they sleep where the hell they want. Always one in nest box, one on edge of nest box, and one on floor of house. Occasionally one will deign to go on the perch.

Only one lays before I let them out in morning and she is lowest in pecking order so has to lay it on floor of house as no way can she get in nest box. I have a thick layer of aubiose down though so floor of house is pretty nest-like anyway! I scoop any poo out of nest-box when I let them out and other 2 then take it in turns.

Really don't think it matters, and since in my experience they will do what they want anyway it is fighting a losing battle!

mine all sleep in the nesting box too, and theyre laying. the runt of the lot (lowest in pecking order) always goes to bed forst so she can get a spot, sly bugger! leaves the rest eating the corn treat they get before bed, which they prob wouldnt let her have much of anyway, and nabs the best spot.
crafty.

Mine are funny - Speckeldy Selina and Ginger both settle down in the nesting box, Honey and Dopey on the floor of the house. Then when I go out to shut the door of the house, speckeldy moves onto the floor of the house and the other 3 fly up to the perch. Usually only 2 stay on the perch and one goes back down with Speckeldy. Very odd creatures!

Mine all sleep in the nest box to but they are ex-batts so they are not used to perching. I tried putting them on the perch everynight but they just got off as soon as my back was turned and got back in the nest box so I have given up. It just means you have to be quick off the mark to take the poo out in the morning before they start laying.

mine all crowd in together to sleep in the nest box too. Doesn't seem to make any difference tbh. If one is asleep in there when another wants to lay they sqwauk (how do you spell that?) a lot and then scrabble about for prime position.

well, tonight(and tomorrow) the nesting box will be blocked so they can't get in it, I'll take the card away in teh morning and see what happens.

Baby peach(teh bully) seems to have given up on bullying Mabel but I've realsied that mabel is actually quiet a drama queen because she squwarks( I can't spell that either...) and screeches all the time if teh others are near her.

They might just bash the cardboard down. I blocked off a nest box last night because the broody hen, who has chosen to sit on eggs right in front of the nestbox, keeps pinching the eggs that the other hens are laying. But at least one hen pushed the cardboard out of the way because after just 2 days, broody is sitting on 10 eggs. (But I've moved her & her precious eggs into a rabbit hutch now so no more egg-theft for her)!

If they do knock it down, I'd just let them get on with it. They may stop sleeping in the nestbox when they start using it for laying anyway.

Apart from teh fact that somewho the door to the house is jammed so they couldn't get out thsi morning the cardboard worked.

Even when I moved it away none of them tried to sneek in there.

Just need to try and dismantle the house now and fix teh door.

phone omlet, they are supposed to be really good at customer service I think.

I called them and they told me to really force it

I said I can't do it it any harder because it'll break it or my wrist and they said it won't break....

anyway, i managed to get the dooor open, but I still can't turn teh handle to lock it.
I suppose its not the end of the world but its bloody annoying....

Had to take one of teh chickens back today, she'd seemed ill since we got her so they said to bring her back and swap her.
OMG chickens are vicious feckers when they want to be..it was an all out bumfight in there!!

I manged to get a huge great scratch done my hand, it sonly a scratsch but produced a fiar amount of blood.
I need to have a tetinus jab FGS. all that chicken shite and open wounds so I called eh docs and tehy said yes deffo get a jab!
You'd think they wee a mad rabid animals!

Not quite so good today then.
you will not put me off.

Oh god....they really are good!

I called again and told them that even with all my might I couldn't turn the handle.

They looked my account up on the screen and as we're a wee bit to far to get a omlet man to come a fix it, they are sending a whole new door section..noy justthe door but the whole side.
I assumed teh door would come off but it seems it all fixed togetehr so they're sending the whole thing!

How FAB is that???

cool. I had read only good things. Have to be really for the price though don't they. Is it 11th july yet?

Did you get a replacement chicken for the sickly one? Was that the bullied one?

No, the ill one was a differnet one.

Its all calmed down now but even Mabel(the victim) had a go at teh new one.

Shes back down at the bottom of teh pecking order now, she isn't getting bullied anymore butyou can deffo see the others lording it over her.

Shes my favourite one.