How many nesting boxes per hen?

[hoovert]

How many nesting boxes is necessary? I have read several answers throughout the net. At first I thought I would need one for each hen but then learned that they will lay in the same box. Is there a general rule - for example, two hens per box? Some say 1 nest box for every 4-5 chickens.

 

[Barrdwing]

My birds' favorite boxes are old covered kitty litterboxes (well-scrubbed, believe me). They will stand in line with their legs crossed waiting to use one. But these things are ten to fifteen years old. I've looked at litterboxes on the market currently, and eeyuk, they just aren't the same! If I want more of these I am going to have to go to garage sales, or put up one of the weirdest want ads Craigslist has ever seen.

 

[patandchickens]

Someone on here, and I deeply regret that I forget who b/c it was brilliantly funny, posted on another thread like this that the usual advice of one nestbox per 4-5 hens was clearly true because <insert pic of 4 of her hens all crammed into one box at the same time>.

It's true, too.

I mean, you can GIVE them more boxes if you have the room and the ambition, maybe they will even use some of them sometimes, but, one box per four hens is plenty and one per 2-3 hens is bordering on excessive

Remember they are sort of instinctually programmed to add to existing clutches of eggs rather than start new ones, so they are generally *attracted to* a box with existing egg(s) in it, that's why fake nest-eggs work in fact.

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[rosemarythyme]

so what do you guys do when you catch 2 or 3 hens fighting over a single box? i tried to carry and move the a couple of them to the next box, and they werent having it and tried to poke me with their beak.

Assuming they aren't doing any real damage to each other or the eggs I'd just let them do what they please. Some chickens will politely wait their turn, others are fine just laying on top of each other.

 

[CrockpotsMama]

I have 3 boxes and 3 hens, they all lay in one box, the same box.

 

[hoovert]

Quote:
Good point... more boxes, more eggs. How will I ever decide? I might as well have more than needed at this point since everyone has a different opinion. I don't want to have too few, that's for sure.

 

[Bobby Joe]

Ive read alot on BYC but I think to get more eggs you gotta have more chickens ...lol... I had 6 boxes and 20 hens they all lined up for a box I had modified to make it a little more private for a hen I "thought" was broody . all my hens started laying in that box so I changed the set up to 3 spacious and very private boxes 24"x18" with a smaller opening in them for the hens to go in instead of being open all the way across the front and they all get used and the girls dont seem to spook off the nest when I go in the coop now.

 

[elmo]

I am a newbie to all of this chicken business and have on a coop design. This forum is great. If you do not mind me asking, what are the new demensions of the entries to the nesting boxes? Approximate numbers is good enough.
You mentioned that the new boxes are a little darker, while I notice a lot of people are painting the inside of their coops white. Wonder if a color not as bright might a better choice for color? Please forgive me if this color question is a stupid one.

Please, there's no such thing as a stupid question, except possibly the one you don't ask.

Once mature, a hen needs to lay someplace, and that necessity makes her quite flexible about nest box requirements. Generally, as long as she can fit in there, and it has some shavings or some kind of bedding, she's likely to accept a wide range of nestbox arrangements. I use lidded plastic totes, a covered kitty litter box, and an old drawer, set on its end. Our hens use all of these.

However, individual hens will sometimes have their own ideas, too. Glinda would dearly love to lay an egg on the roof of the run. I see her eyeing it every time she's free ranging in the yard and the time to lay comes upon her. I've even had to get a ladder and shoo her off the roof a time or two.

Hermione sometimes likes to lay behind the swinging pop door when it's latched inside the coop during the daytime. When I go to close it at bedtime, I'll find her egg behind the door. And every once in a while, somebody (not sure who) lays her egg on the boot tray under the roost that's there to collect night time droppings. Fortunately, I clean the boot trays out every morning so when this happens, the egg is not laid in a pile of poo.​

 

[NicInNC]

I have 14 hens and only 3 nesting boxes. They all insist on using just two of the nesting boxes. The one on the right end NEVER gets used and I don't know why because it's the exact same as the others. I also have 2 silkies that are broody 365 days of the year.

Today I went in and one of my EE's was laying on TOP of my silkie and laid the egg that way.

 

[andycowboy]

Several years ago I had 11 hens and 10 nesting boxes. They laid in the same 3 boxes every day, so the 1 box every 3-4 hens held with them. I currently have 13 girls about to reach laying age, and I have 8 boxes. Before I boarded them up to stop the playing in them, 3 of them usually had a girl in them - guessing that's how it will be, so that's where I'm going to put the ceramic eggs.

I'm about to start a new coop to raise - on a very small scale - Buckeys. I have 11 pullet chicks, with a near-future plan of adding anothe dozen (hopefully my own hatchlings!), so I including 8 boxes in that henhouse - should be plenty!

In agreement with elmo, the only stupid question is the one you don't ask! One thing I've definitely learned being a BYC member is this: everyone wants to help! Pay attention to suggestions from everyone - newbies to flock masters - and use what you like and what will work for you! I'll repeat what I saw in another thread - the birds don't care! Just provide them with a safe, healthy environment, and they'll be happy!

Good luck with your new hobby!

Have a great evening, and God bless!