# Hens are pooping in the nesting boxes



## CocalicoSprings (Mar 12, 2008)

How do I stop this? should I take them all to the butcher and start over? Is there a way to find out who the culprit is and then eliminate her?
I don't want crap all over the eggs..
<geez>


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## chickenista (Mar 24, 2007)

Are they open topeed boxes?
If so, they need to not be able to perch on the edge of the box.

If not, then there is too much light in the boxes.
Take a piece of cardboard or feed bag (I prefer feed bag) and stapl it over 1/2 the opening of the nest box.
Cut slits in the new 'edge' so that it is give and will be flexible when the birds try to get into the box.

And you will on occasion still get poop in the box. That is just the way of the world. Both the eggs and the feces come through the vent and sometimes the egg pushes feces along ahead of it etc...


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## katydidagain (Jun 11, 2004)

Is this new behavior? How cold is it where you are? A nestbox is very toasty warm on these cold nights. I had the same problem with 1 or 2 of my lower (on the ground) nestboxes and discovered that my stupid "POL floor raised pullets" didn't understand that they needed to get on the roost at night but insisted on sleeping in them. (Tonight I had only 3 I had to put up--last night it was 8.) No fresh poo in the boxes but, with all the snow we've had, my girls haven't been able to go outside so their eggs are dirtier.


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## marinemomtatt (Oct 8, 2006)

Poo does wash off (it's not like cat or dog poo)
It's our red clay that stains our eggs, if I could only get the girls to wipe their feet before getting into the boxes.


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## wolffeathers (Dec 20, 2010)

Mine only poop in the nestbox if there is only limited room left on the roosts. So they sleep in the nestbox. I make more room on the roost and the behavior usually stops.


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## Sanza (Sep 8, 2008)

Chickens will also roost and poop in the nests if they are higher then the roosts because they will always look for the highest possible place to perch. Sometimes one will decide they like to sleep in the nest box anyway and when I go to lock them in at night I always check and move them to the roosts.


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## Dazlin (Nov 26, 2007)

Mine do that when they sleep in there. I go out after they go to sleep and place them on the roosts. It's a pain, but they'll get the hang of it, and stop sleeping in there.
The weather got cold here(Florida) and the silkies went in the boxes, so I let them.


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## Caprice Acres (Mar 6, 2005)

Despite having ample perch space and the nestboxes being lower than the nestboxes, I still have some hens (and even a rooster) sleep in the boxes and poo in there. It's not much of an issue, but I just change the bedding regularly. A little poo on them isn't a big issue, and it washes off easily. If they are stained (white eggs especially), I just feed those ones to the dogs.


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## LittleRedHen (Apr 26, 2006)

I moved my nest boxes away from their regular sleeping area and that helped a lot except I had these 4 younger ones who did it anyways because they didn't like the other chickens anyways so i made the boxes smaller so that all 4 couldn't sleep together anyways and that stopped them. My birds have to go out of the coop and several feet into the run to go to the nesting boxes now and its too much of an effort i guess


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## BethW (May 3, 2007)

I have a hen who's been doing this for the last few months. It makes me nuts.

There's plenty of space on the roost, and the roost is much higher than the nextboxes (the boxes are on the floor of the coop), but she insists on sleeping in one...a different one every night so there's poop in _all_ of the boxes. Grr.

She is the lowest on the pecking order and was the last to molt. Don't know if that has anything to do with it. Maybe the nest box is warmer.


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## Quercus21 (Nov 25, 2009)

We have/had a problem with some roosting in the boxes at night. What I am doing at the moment to break them of their habit, is to block off the nest boxes when I close them up at night and in the morning, when I open their coop I'll remove the wood that was use to block the boxes.


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## PrincessFerf (Apr 25, 2008)

I have that issue more often in the winter than in the summer (when the chickens are out in the run and not pooping as much inside the coop). I just make sure there's clean straw in the nesting boxes each day... and that helps. /shrug


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## po boy (Jul 12, 2010)

CocalicoSprings said:


> How do I stop this? should I take them all to the butcher and start over? Is there a way to find out who the culprit is and then eliminate her?
> I don't want crap all over the eggs..
> <geez>


That's what you call *fertilized* eggs!


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## Sanza (Sep 8, 2008)

:rotfl:


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## BethW (May 3, 2007)

po boy said:


> That's what you call *fertilized* eggs!


*giggle*


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