Two Birds One Stone Farm
In the Brooder
- Nov 13, 2017
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About 6 weeks ago we brought home 6, 18 week old brown laying hens. At first the girls didn't want to go outside, and laid their eggs on the ground, but now they've go the hang of things and spend their days doing chicken stuff. However, at night they wanted to sleep in their nesting boxes. My husband and I would go in at dusk and remove them and put them on their roost where we presumed they stayed all night, judging by the poop underneath. After a few weeks they were starting to get the hang of it and most of them would be on the roost when we would check in the evening. We live in Nova Scotia, Canada, and currently temperatures are dipping down to around 20'F at night, and since the temperatures have been getting cooler they have taken to the habit of sleeping in their nesting boxes again. During the day the temperature doesn't seem to faze them, and I want them to be warm, but I don't want them sleeping in the nesting boxes and then laying eggs in the poop. My question is: Should we continue to attempt to train them to sleep on their roosts (is it too chilly for them there?), or should we build them a little box where they can sleep in and cuddle? We have ample roosting space for just six chickens, two branches about 5' long, one is 2' off the ground, the other is 3' off the ground and they are firmly anchored. Thank you! Sarah
