As discussed in an earlier post, I made some changes to the tractor design for the second build, which is still occupied by the second group of Barred Rock birds. The main thing I was trying to accomplish was lowering the nesting boxes so that they would be lower than the roosting bars. I hoped this would avoid the problem that developed with the first tractor, in which the chickens roosted in the nesting boxes and laid on the ground underneath the boxes. Lowering the boxes greatly complicated the build, but last year it seemed to work reasonably well at getting the birds to lay in the boxes rather than sleep--after an initial period of them laying on the ground.
Well... this year while they have been parked, they have fallen into the same habits the first group of chickens acquired. They're laying on the ground (again) and roosting in the boxes. This is what I'm finding daily:
The egg in the picture is a fake one, providing a hint that is not being taken (at least for now). I'm hopeful that this is more a product of the tractors being parked, with the resulting hay inside, that is making a little nest area at the back on the ground more attractive than the boxes. Once I started rolling last year, the birds soon moved to the nesting boxes for their egg-laying and all was well. I hope that happens this year, because there's no room for a nesting box under the existing nesting boxes in the new tractor--unless I cut one down. At this point, I'd say my design modification was not worth the effort and I wouldn't do it again. Ah well.
Meanwhile, the Delawares in Tractor 1 are mostly laying on the ground, but I've found a couple of eggs in the boxes--and not much poop. So there is some hope.
Update: both tractors are rolling again, as the grass is greening and the winter weeds are abundant. Both groups are laying in the boxes more often now, but the Delawares are still laying one or two on the ground every day.
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