community nest box for 25 hens, should i add another?

[stevin]

currently i have 25 hens, not all are laying, maybe half.....
i have a community nest box which is 16" high x 16" deep x 4' wide, originally built for 10 hens.
why didn't anyone tell me that chickens were so darn addictive!!!!!!!

sooner or later most if not all the hens will be laying. will this nest box be big enough for all 25 hens.
should i build another one? the reason i'm asking is on a couple of occasions i've found 1-2 eggs out on the coop floor & once on the poop board. no big deal....
yesterday i found only 4 eggs in the nest box and 6 eggs all in the same back corner of the coop floor.
is this enough reason for concern?

 

[patandchickens]

Yup, it'd be a good idea. Especially since you're getting floor eggs already.

If you can put the new box in the corner of the coop where you found the floor eggs yesterday that might kill 2 birds with one stone, if the location is suitable

Good luck, have fun,

Pat

 

[sunflowerenvy]

1 nest box cover 4 birds so 25 birds need to have at 4 nest boxes lol

 

[BWKatz]

Sounds like u need to put some dividers in that 4ft nest. It really only needs to be 12x12. They like it cozy & dark and need some privacy..hence the corner. This would allow more than one hen up there at a time in case one decides to go broody too.

 

[3chimama]

Yes, I would add more nest boxes!!

 

[patandchickens]

Previous posters should note that this is a COMMUNITY nestbox, hence the dimensions and only one for the original ten hens. It's a perfectly valid design, just maybe different than what many are used to

Pat

 

[Judy]

SOME hens prefer privacy -- others prefer to climb on top of one another. Or such is my experience.

I have three standard open front nests on top of two, another floor bin with an open top, and two more spots where I left a scrap of OSB maybe 16"x18" leaning on the wall and they laid under it. Used to have an open top cardboard box on the floor that they loved.

What's interesting is they switch around. Found 3 eggs in a lower, wider nest a few days ago, and no one had used that nest for a couple of months prior. The open top bin is currently in use by the mama with chicks, but my SS like it. Not getting any SS eggs right now but they're molting. Wonder where I'd find them if they weren't.

Used to have a community nest box, about 3' wide. Some preferred it, some laid on the floor, hence the cardboard box. Not a big believer in spending money on nests; they're too fickle.

I'd definitely be putting a box where they laid on the floor -- or just pad it well with hay or whatever, if it's a corner. I've done that, too.