Chickens to nesting boxes ratio

[CHlCKEN]

My girls ALL lay in one box. Even when I had 13 laying hens, and 6 boxes, they all used the same 2, but usually one specific one. They don’t really need many more, since they won’t USE the others.

 

[K0k0shka]

LOVELY girls! I just adore Barneys!

Thanks! I love them, too. They remind me of Eastern European Easter eggs, the kind you draw intricate patterns on with wax.

 

[CHlCKEN]

Thanks! I love them, too. They remind me of Eastern European Easter eggs, the kind you draw intricate patterns on with wax.

View attachment 2459103

Wow your right! I’ve always wanted to add one of those double-laced chickens to my flock. The certainly are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever laid eyes on!!!

 

[K0k0shka]

Wow your right! I’ve always wanted to add on of those double-laced chickens to my flock. they are the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever laid eyes on!!,

They are quite something! Another double laced variety I love is partridge. I REALLY wanted some partridge Orpingtons and ordered 6 eggs last spring, but only one hatched and he turned out to be a boy, and boys don’t have the lacing, so that was quite disappointing. I want to try again next spring. This is what the girls look like:

 

[CHlCKEN]

They are quite something! Another double laced variety I love is partridge. I REALLY wanted some partridge Orpingtons and ordered 6 eggs last spring, but only one hatched and he turned out to be a boy, and boys don’t have the lacing, so that was quite disappointing. I want to try again next spring. This is what the girls look like:

View attachment 2459116

Beautiful! Curious, how do the boys turn out? Are they sex-linked somehow?

 

[K0k0shka]

Beautiful! Curious, how do the boys turn out? Are they sex-linked somehow?

The pattern just doesn’t show up on the males (but they take a while for that to become apparent as they grow, so they’re not any easier to sex when young). Barnevelders are like that, too - the males don’t have the pretty lacing.

Here’s my partridge Orp:

And one of the Barnevelder boys:

 

[CHlCKEN]

They’re not sex linked, the pattern just doesn’t show up on the males. Barnevelders are like that, too - the males don’t have the pretty lacing.

Here’s my partridge Orp:
View attachment 2459130

And one of the Barnevelder boys:
View attachment 2459135

That makes most sense! Both are beautiful!

 

[K0k0shka]

That makes most sense! Both are beautiful!

Thank you!

 

[NickyPick]

For the past few years, I've had about 60 laying hens of various ages. We have 4 sets of 3 nest boxes, stacked. They alternate. We'll get a dozen on one box, 3-7 in 4 boxes and 1 or nothing in the rest. 3 months later, the box that had large amounts of eggs would completely switch to the opposite wall box. I've upped to 90 hens, so we'll probably add another 2-4 boxes, but they really like to lay in the same or nearby spots. It's nature. In the wild, the hens need to lay in the same spot. That way, when a hen goes broody, she'll have a decent size clutch to sit on, while the other hens move on to a new spot.

 

[592784]

I have 4 boxes and 3 girls. They all lay in one box and wait their turn. They sleep in the other 3 boxes up until this week. Not sure what’s upset their routine, but now they lay their eggs in two of the four boxes and sleep on top off the roof of their box at night. Not sure why they are sleeping on their roof instead of inside where it’s warm like they have been all this time. But they are weird so who knows