Communal Nest Boxes, Yay or Nay?

[thecatumbrella]

The manufacturer will have you know that chickens just LOVE communal nest boxes, but do they really?

With our first flock, we were able to get by with 3 birds that laid at different times. Those birds also got along very well (until they didn't). This new bantam flock is much higher drama, with lots of "Get out of my space!" behaviors and general grumpiness. To be fair, it's really hot out, and pretty much the worst time of year to start laying eggs.

I'm on the fence about splitting the communal box in half. Seems like a smart idea to minimize pecking order skirmishes, but it would also be a change. And chickens hate change. And mine are already grumpy.

We only have 1 layer so far, with a 2nd one on the way. So I need to make a decision soon.

Do you use a communal nest box? Does the flock approve? Does it cause more issues having to share a space (albeit, a large space)? Let me know!

 

[chickengr]

depends. some don't mind to share nest, some do. I always have more nests just in case. they are large so at least 2 hens can lay at the same time (and they do).

 

[NatJ]

The manufacturer will have you know that chickens just LOVE communal nest boxes, but do they really?

With our first flock, we were able to get by with 3 birds that laid at different times. Those birds also got along very well (until they didn't). This new bantam flock is much higher drama, with lots of "Get out of my space!" behaviors and general grumpiness. To be fair, it's really hot out, and pretty much the worst time of year to start laying eggs.

I'm on the fence about splitting the communal box in half. Seems like a smart idea to minimize pecking order skirmishes, but it would also be a change. And chickens hate change. And mine are already grumpy.

We only have 1 layer so far, with a 2nd one on the way. So I need to make a decision soon.

Do you use a communal nest box? Does the flock approve? Does it cause more issues having to share a space (albeit, a large space)? Let me know!

How many chickens do you have?

I would probably leave it alone for now.

If it seems to be an issue later, maybe put a cardboard box in half of it (to make it be two nests) and watch what happens. If that makes things better, you can either leave it or do a more permanent division. If it makes things worse, it's easy to take the box back out and be back to the way it was before.

Hens usually want to lay in a nest that already contains eggs, and they often want "the nest she is using," rather than an empty nest right next to it. Of course there are always exceptions, but you won't know about your individual chickens until you see what they do.