nest box problem.

[SLWyandotte]

ok i have 12 hens that are just starting to lay. i had 1 nest box and when i got 6 eggs in one day i added 2 more. unfortunately i went to check for eggs a few minutes ago and had 3 hens trying to share the same nest box. the first box is a large milk create about 18"x24"x12" so it could accommodate 2 in a pinch if they would stay at the ends. they all explored the other 2 boxed which are half bushel baskets all on the same shelf as the create. all of them are bolted down and have the same pine straw nesting material. why arn't they using the other nest boxed instead of crowding each other in the same box.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I have 12 nestboxes, and all of my girls lay in the same box (12 boxes for 7 hens laying currently). Sometimes I'll go to the coop and find 2 (or 3) all piled into the same box. Or sometimes I'll go back and someone will be raising all kinds of heck because they want an already occupied box. I think it has something to do with it feeling safe for them. Someones already used the box to lay their egg and established that its a safe place to lay. Hens also like to lay in one nest to gather a nice clutch of eggs for someone to sit on to hatch some babies. These are just my observations, so who knows why they do the crazy chicken things they do. Good luck!

 

[Abirdbrain]

Ya, that is normal for most chickens. They will share a nest, and load it with eggs. Keep the eggs harvested, or one will go broody and set on them, and stop laying, while the others will fill another nest. It is how their system works. I have seen some nests gather 20 eggs or more from feral chickens. It is their method of continuing the line of births, as they are low in the food chain.