Stopping hens from crowding into one nesting Box?

[usfarmchicks]

How do I get my hens to spread out. We have 7 hens and 3 nesting boxes we built for their use. One additional one made out of a plastic dish pan just to keep the darn hen from laying on the floor in the same spot each day.

My problem is that the other 3 that are laying right now are all using the same nesting boxes and I am occasionally finding a broken egg. Not eaten just looks like a hen may have stepped on it while getting in our out of the box. I have put fake eggs and fresh herbs in all the boxes to encourage use.

 

[mickey328]

LOL, they're so funny about that! We have 2 boxes for our 6 hens and all 6 of them use just one box! Oh, they rest and sleep and prowl around the other one, but all the eggs are laid in the other.

We used a dishpan at first as well...and 2 of them would use it...the other 4 laid it on the floor of the cage (till we got our coop built). We put a roof over the boxes in the coop and that seemed to do the trick...they seem to prefer a bit more privacy. I do note that the one box they use has a side wall and the other doesn't. We're going to put a side wall on it and see if that'll do the trick.

We're fortunate in that we're both home during the day and can check for eggs often and remove them...touch wood, we haven't had any broken ones yet.

Can the stubborn one reach the boxes easily? Might she be on the lower end of the pecking order and a bit timid to get in with the others? That can be the case sometimes.

 

[usfarmchicks]

all nesting boxes have sides and they can all reach the boxes. The boxes have a roost set up from the box just about 1.5 feet off the ground. The dishpan is actually sitting under the nesting boxes. Plus there is one stubborn one that lays an egg in the middle of the chicken coop floor. Have to watch where I walk everytime I go in the coop.

I don't think it's a pecking order as the one that uses the dishpan was the first to lay eggs. I put the dishpan in there easier so I could slide it out and get the egg without crawling on my hands and knees in the coop to recover the egg.

 

[cbenson6820]

is there anything different about the nest box that they like compared to the other nest boxes? Is it higher on the wall than the others?

 

[StealthMouse]

I'll have a moderator move this to the proper section so you'll get answers more effectively.

 

[usfarmchicks]

Nope they are all in a row together. The middle one is a bit bigger. The one they choose is the one in the darkest corner of the nest.

 

[usfarmchicks]

Thanks I can never figure out how to post on this forum.

 

[cbenson6820]

generally they like to use the highest one from the ground. If they are all the same then i would either block the box they like so that they can't use it until they get use to using the other ones or add a roof to the ones they don't use.

 

[cbenson6820]

they like to lay where they feel safest because it can take up to an hour and a half to lay an egg. They probably feel safer in the one closest to the dark corner so i would try either enclosing the other 2 or move them all into the corner.

 

[usfarmchicks]

Thanks the other 2 are enclosed but more light gets into them. I'm going to figure out how to make them darker. Someone was in the bigger roomier box today but didn't leave me an egg. I guess just trying it out.