How many nesting boxes are suitable for this amount of birds?

[demonic]

I currently have 3 hens and 3 nesting boxes. 1 is recovering from worms and still isn’t laying yet and the other 2 lay in seperate nesting boxes. However, I have 10 ISA brown chicks still in the brooder who are around 6 weeks (I know it’s time for them to start going out but I’m postponing it for a week when I come back from vacation so I can monitor them when outside) and I’m going to give away or eat 3 of those chicks so I’m going to have 10 hens total. ( my 3 current hens + 7 isa browns ) but we are wondering how many nesting boxes we need to have… because isa browns lay everyday and If I have 7 I’m going to need over 7 nesting boxes. I was thinking of just adding 3 more nesting boxes so in total I would have 6 because my current hens are easter eggers and usually lay every other day. Is 6 nesting boxes enough?

 

[Emelyn]

I currently have 3 hens and 3 nesting boxes. 1 is recovering from worms and still isn’t laying yet and the other 2 lay in seperate nesting boxes. However, I have 10 ISA brown chicks still in the brooder who are around 6 weeks (I know it’s time for them to start going out but I’m postponing it for a week when I come back from vacation so I can monitor them when outside) and I’m going to give away or eat 3 of those chicks so I’m going to have 10 hens total. ( my 3 current hens + 7 isa browns ) but we are wondering how many nesting boxes we need to have… because isa browns lay everyday and If I have 7 I’m going to need over 7 nesting boxes. I was thinking of just adding 3 more nesting boxes so in total I would have 6 because my current hens are easter egger sand usually lay every other day. Is 6 nesting boxes enough?

I would add at least 7-8 for the hens.

 

[Emelyn]

I currently have 3 hens and 3 nesting boxes. 1 is recovering from worms and still isn’t laying yet and the other 2 lay in seperate nesting boxes. However, I have 10 ISA brown chicks still in the brooder who are around 6 weeks (I know it’s time for them to start going out but I’m postponing it for a week when I come back from vacation so I can monitor them when outside) and I’m going to give away or eat 3 of those chicks so I’m going to have 10 hens total. ( my 3 current hens + 7 isa browns ) but we are wondering how many nesting boxes we need to have… because isa browns lay everyday and If I have 7 I’m going to need over 7 nesting boxes. I was thinking of just adding 3 more nesting boxes so in total I would have 6 because my current hens are easter egger sand usually lay every other day. Is 6 nesting boxes enough?

Also it's nice to finally meet a New Yorker here on BYC!

 

[Pollito Pelon]

I have 8 hens that lay daily but currently they lay in 2 nest instead of the 5 I have it depends on hen and of course if the rooster shows them where to lay eggs

However it's ideal to have one for each

 

[JacinLarkwell]

You only need one box for every 3 or 4 birds

 

[cherrynberry]

You only need one box for every 3 or 4 birds

Agree, you don’t need one nest per hen. For 10 chickens, 3 nests is enough. I personally have 3 nesting boxes for 14 hens

 

[demonic]

Also it's nice to finally meet a New Yorker here on BYC!

Haha thank you! I haven’t seen to many people from New York on here.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

As both @JacinLarkwell and @cherrynberry have stated above, you have enough nesting boxes as is. The "thumb rule" is one box per five layers, though like most thumb rules, it varies a bit. There is some advantage to having more than the thumb rule suggests for small flocks.

You can see my flock in my signature, below. Ignore the ducks, they lay on the ground. I have 46 chickens at present. 12 are hatchlings. A couple are roos. a few have not yet begun to lay. Call it 25 layers +/-, I have seven boxes. More often than not, all are empty. On occasion, I'll find a layer "waiting her turn" for a box, while four boxes are empty! And while there tends to be "favorite" boxes for no discernable reason, they will frequently, and just as inscrutably, change "favorites", seemingly at random.

 

[Callender Girl]

@U_Stormcrow is so right! While you should always try to have enough nesting boxes, it's more than likely that the hens will choose only one or two they really like and the rest will remain empty.

I have multiple coops with a total of 13 nest boxes for my 17 mature hens. How many ever get eggs laid in them? Six. Exactly six.

Yesterday, Camille was in her run with her injured sister until midafternoon. She clearly wanted to lay an egg; she was singing. BUT, she wouldn't drop that egg until I opened the run and she could dash next door to the adjacent coop. Not more than 5 minutes later, she had laid her egg in the "better" next box.

 

[demonic]

Agree, you don’t need one nest per hen. For 10 chickens, 3 nests is enough. I personally have 3 nesting boxes for 14 hens

Oh ok, good to hear. I was worried the coop wouldn’t have enough space if I did add 3 more nesting boxes because my nesting boxes have stairs that take up lots of the coop. (In the picture you can see the 3)