To build more lay boxes or not?

[JSossong]

Greetings! I have a question regarding how many lay boxes I should have in my coop.

So I have 22 chickens total, 2 flocks, 2 different ages.

When I first built my coop I was in a hurry to get my first batch in because they were growing so fast. I originally built 3 lay boxes and put in one set of roosts for 10 hens. Now all ten are laying and seem to be very pleased in their home. All but 3 girls lay their eggs in the exact same box. The other 3 love laying behind the feed containers.

Then I added 12 more girls in the coop. I immediately built more roosts and my plan was to add more boxes once it got closer to their laying time.

Now 2 of my second batch are laying. I must admit I have been a bit lazy lately and have yet to put more lay boxes in. I've noticed though that the newest 2 laying are laying in the same box as all the other hens.

Occasionally I will find 1-3 eggs in a different box from the rest but that's it.

So my question is, should I still add more boxes in my coop? I know only 3 seems like not enough for 22 chickens but it seems that they all prefer to use the same one anyways.

All thoughts and comments welcomed!
Thanks
xx

 

[15shenyl]

I have 6 boxes for my 12 hens. They may not use every single one every time but you do need plenty to let them decide where to lay. You should have at least 6 with the amount of birds you have.

 

[MotherOfChkns]

If only 2 of the second flock are laying, it's going to get too crowded! An easy way to give them more nests is to put 5 gallon buckets on their side with some straw in them. It's a good temporary fix.