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Neighbor told me my nesting boxes were too dark, made a simple change and egg picking went way up
I used to think chickens just needed a quiet dark spot to lay, but my neighbor Mary from down the street pointed out my boxes were like little caves. She said hens prefer a bit of light so they can see where they're going. I cut a small window in each box lid and covered it with clear plastic, nothing fancy. Now I'm getting eggs more often and they're cleaner too since they're not all huddled in one corner. Anybody else try brightening up their boxes and notice a difference?
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graceprice1mo agoTop Commenter
Huh, that's interesting because I always heard the opposite - that they wanted it dark and cozy like a cave. But now that I think about it, my girls do tend to pile into the box that gets the most morning light from the window. Did you notice if they started using the brighter boxes right away or did it take them a few days to get used to it?
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david7391mo ago
Lol yeah they literally took to it like it was a tanning salon, no hesitation at all. Guess my cats are just drama queens who don't read the same cat advice books I do.
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miab877d ago
Oh for sure, with mine it was immediate. Like I set the boxes down and they were in them within minutes, no hesitation. The ones in the sunny spots got way more use than the ones I tucked away in corners. I think cats are just smarter than we give them credit for, they know what they like regardless of what any article says. Have you tried moving one of their boxes to a sunny window to see if they start using it more?
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