Besides fake eggs and golf balls, what else have you used that worked to prevent a nesting box war?

[saysfaa]

Change the environment of each box.
Make the favored one a little less dark/private/comfortable or the alternative a little more so.

Easiest way for most set ups might be to put curtains on the alternative or take them off the favored nest box. Or bigger/smaller curtains. Or more/less light blocking.

Likely less easy might be changing the location in the coop or the size of the nest box or the bedding in it.

If you are set on fake eggs, potatoes might be easier to find in right size/shape than some of the other options and are quite worry-free as far as breaking. They won't last as long as a golfball or rock but will last a reasonable time. They are closer to the weight of a real egg than some of the other choices, too. I haven't used them; I found two sizes of wooden eggs, two sizes of ceramic eggs, and a few kinds of plastic eggs at goodwill stores before my chicks started laying. And they don't like any of them...I tried them one or two at a time and they pushed all of them out of the nest. Thankfully, they don't push each other's real eggs out.

 

[3KillerBs]

Change the environment of each box.
Make the favored one a little less dark/private/comfortable or the alternative a little more so.

Easiest way for most set ups might be to put curtains on the alternative or take them off the favored nest box. Or bigger/smaller curtains. Or more/less light blocking.

Likely less easy might be changing the location in the coop or the size of the nest box or the bedding in it.

If you are set on fake eggs, potatoes might be easier to find in right size/shape than some of the other options and are quite worry-free as far as breaking. They won't last as long as a golfball or rock but will last a reasonable time. They are closer to the weight of a real egg than some of the other choices, too. I haven't used them; I found two sizes of wooden eggs, two sizes of ceramic eggs, and a few plastic eggs at goodwill stores before my chicks started laying. And they don't like any of them...I tried them one or two at a time and they pushed all of them out of the nest. Thankfully, they don't push each other's real eggs out.

The potatoes sound like a great option until the OP can source some golf balls.

I like golf balls because I can tell them apart from actual eggs by touch while rummaging around under a broody hen.

 

[neo71665]

Plus golf balls are easy to find, cheap, and last forever.

 

[Mrs. K]

I have found that they are notional, and while they will favor one nest for weeks...then all of a sudden they will change, or have a hidden nest.

If they are seriously fighting over one nest, you might block that one off for a couple of days, give everyone a new notion.

Mrs k

 

[katie_94]

I did have some small potatoes but when I tried them out, the girls hated them lol. Sounded like an awesome temp alternative but not for mine hehe

My uncle just gave me some of his hollow golf balls and I tried mixing them: golf ball+egg in two unpopular boxes, only golf balls in one unpopular box, and the rest empty (including the favored box). Earlier, they were still using the favored box but after mixing, one of the girls who came to lay was so confused and ended up going into the box with golf balls only. We'll see how this plays out. I plan to try and get my hands on some ceramic eggs too to test out.

If you still have ideas or stories I'd love to hear! Again, chickens are so silly.

 

[linguini]

Real eggs. Use real eggs. Collect them at end of day, put them out again next day.

Just wondering if you can make hardboiled eggs and put a small marking so you won't confuse yourself!