A Clean Nesting Box {Pizza Boxes to the Rescue}

One of our Silkies, Beanie, hatched these two little buggers at the end of June.  They are now 16+ weeks old.  In fact, the little pullet should start laying soon.

Beanie, being the broody little thing she is, is back on the nest hoping for another clutch to hatch.  Apparently, her chicks can't get on without her because they keep trying to sleep in the nesting box with her instead of hopping up on the roost with the rest of the flock.  They are barred rock-buff orpington and silver laced wyandotte-buff orpington mixes (that's a mouthful!).  They are much bigger than their surrogate Silkie Momma.  They practically squish her, but she doesn't seem to mind.  If Beanie doesn't mind being squished by her nearly full-grown chicks, I don't care either. 

There's no room in there for 2 more!

What I do care about is this - chickens poop when they sleep.  It's gross, but it's true.  Broody hens, however, do not poop when they sleep.  Beanie sleeping in a nesting box doesn't dirty up the nesting box.  She holds it all night and takes a really big poop in the morning.  I know, that's gross too, but it's true.  If a broody hen pooped all night she'd be pooping on the eggs she's working to hatch.  Yuck.  Her two chicks, however, will poop all night in the box.  It's disgusting.  We're tired of scooping it out and trying to keep the boxes clean so we've taken drastic measures with pizza boxes. 

 

 

It looks funny, but it totally works.  The chicks get shoved out come evening; the boxes shoved in; Beanie's all comfy-cozy, and the chicks eventually make their way up on the roost.  It took about 2 straight weeks before the little stinkers got the picture.  Thank goodness they did. 

Linking up with Rural Thursday and Farm Girl Friday and Homestead Barn Hop!