[ Post a Response | The Easy Chicken Messageboard ]
Posted by annie
on 6/30/2009, 6:13 pm
71.198.216.78
Hello!
I'm another newbie to chickens. Just bought 4 pullets (3 mo old?) and built a coop from a design online which includes an enclosed 4x8 foot box with window, nesting box and roosting pole inside. There's a door with ladder leading to an outside pen.
I was under the impression that the hens would sleep on the roosting pole but instead they ALL sleep in the nesting box! I live in Calif. so the weather is mild. Just wondering, do all hens roost? Should there be a pole outside the box in the pen to roost? I really wanted them to lay eggs in the nesting box not sleep in there; will they still lay in there? (haven't started laying yet). Also, they spend most of their time inside the box, not in the pen. Is this normal behavior? I've only had them for a few days and I have a big dog that curiously watches them (maybe they're nervous?).
Thanks for any advice!
Annie
Message Thread:
« Back to thread