Birds Per Box

[ChickKid94]

How many nesting boxes should you have per hen? I see some people with 4 boxes for 10 hens and then 2 for 3 hens.. What would be the limit per box?

 

[Red Barn Farms]

The most common is one box for every four chickens. [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Most people make 'X' number of boxes per 'Y' number of chickens but then find out the hens pile into one of two nests. Another idea is having a community nesting area being large enough so the girls can sit together without crowding.[/FONT]

 

[gator75]

I am remodeling my coop to accommodate 5 hens from 3. The biggest Pita is going to be adding a nesting box. anyone have experience with a 5 hen to a single box setup?

Want to add that two hens are 3 yr old Sussex and BSL. New three are 3 weeks old. Not sure the BSL will have more than this year left anyway, although she is still pumping them out.

 

[Spartan22]

I am remodeling my coop to accommodate 5 hens from 3. The biggest Pita is going to be adding a nesting box. anyone have experience with a 5 hen to a single box setup?

Want to add that two hens are 3 yr old Sussex and BSL. New three are 3 weeks old. Not sure the BSL will have more than this year left anyway, although she is still pumping them out.

Not a big issue, sometimes two hens will crowd in one nesting box sometimes they will fall in line while making noises. If you can add more go for it no guarantees. I have 14 nests for 30 layers, theres 4 they never ever use and there’s 3 that I normally find 5-6 eggs everyday and there’s one hen still lays egg on the floor in a corner, go figure.

 

[brewfarm]

I started out with 12 nesting boxes for 49 hens. I was told - I can't quote a standard- that a traditional nesting box (12x12x12) will support 4, no more than 5, hens per box. That being said, tonight I found 7 eggs in one box and no eggs in 3 boxes. Apparently all my ladies have a favorite spot.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

My personal approach is always a minimum of 2 boxes regardless of flock size . From there I suggest one box for every for hens

 

[gator75]

Thanks all. Going with one and can always add one. I only have one bird that's a historically broody breed.