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.

 

[thecatumbrella]

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.

We have 4 bantams that will share a 12"-ish x 36"-ish nest box. I'm thinking I need to at least replace the entrance with something that has two openings. My current layer is a bit of a jerk to the lowest ranked bird, and I don't want her to get cornered.

Cardboard is the perfect idea for testing a new configuration!

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Wait…we have a say?

 

[Mother of Chaos]

Our three layers used to be fine with the two side-by-side nesting boxes. Then one went into a full-tilt 30 hour broodiness until the battery powered camping fan broke her. While she was broody, she did everything she could to block her mild-mannered Buff Orpington flockmate.

Buffy has Not Forgotten, and she now raises hell when the other is on one of the nests. They used to look like ladies from the 50’s under adjoining hair dryers, catching up on the gossip.

I had hoped once for a communal nest too, but I don’t see it happening anytime soon.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Our three layers used to be fine with the two side-by-side nesting boxes. Then one went into a full-tilt 30 hour broodiness until the battery powered camping fan broke her. While she was broody, she did everything she could to block her mild-mannered Buff Orpington flockmate.

Buffy has Not Forgotten, and she now raises hell when the other is on one of the nests. They used to look like ladies from the 50’s under adjoining hair dryers, catching up on the gossip.

I had hoped once for a communal nest too, but I don’t see it happening anytime soon.

I mostly like it from a ventilation standpoint, but I've got ideas. Big ideas. Most of which involve hardware mesh.

Sorry yours have shattered your communal nest dreams.

 

[thecatumbrella]

Also, thank you to whoever picked the joke answer. You've made my day!

 

[NatJ]

We have 4 bantams that will share a 12"-ish x 36"-ish nest box. I'm thinking I need to at least replace the entrance with something that has two openings. My current layer is a bit of a jerk to the lowest ranked bird, and I don't want her to get cornered.

Cardboard is the perfect idea for testing a new configuration!

With only 4, I would generally expect one nestbox to be enough for all of them, even if it's just a normal-sized nestbox. The exception would be if one or more go broody, because then they stay in the nest rather than laying their egg and leaving.

For larger groups of hens, it is common to have about four times as many hens as there are nestboxes. Then the hens pick a few favorite boxes and ignore the rest.

But when you have just a few, of course the behavior of the individual hens will make a big difference. Since you already notice issues between certain hens, then it probably does make sense to give them two choices instead of forcing them to share one nestbox. Instead of dividing it into even sections, you might make one section a foot square and leave the other bigger. That way they can choose the size they like better.

 

[Altairsky]

My hens hate to share nest boxes. I ended up with 5 nests for 4 layers and they're much happier.