Could not enough nesting boxes cause flock issues?

[TropicalBabies]

@TropicalBabies

Love the table and swing idea!!! My gears are grinding!!!

So I love that vintage shabby chic kinda look. We have a old 1906 house so I wanted the coop etc to match. And I just thought of the greatest thing!!!

A old pot belly stove! And how funny would it be to have a area with a nest in the run -inside- the wood stove door?!?! It would be something to crawl under, jump on top of and lay eggs inside???

I found one on Facebook market place about a hr away.

I love, love, love it and can't wait to see it! Bravo and just terrific!

K, NOT forcing my girls to stick only with the first 4 boxes has opened up my world, though may sound nuts to some but hey, I have lost 3 pullets from stressing @ POL because of seniors not letting them in the box hence adding stress on top of stress. With our heat and humidity the additional boxes have worked out great, girls just skip to a more friendly box when needed, easy peasy. I have also not lost a pullet since adding boxes. So, major bonus.

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

I have 15 hens, and 2 community boxes about 40" wide, they all lay in one. Nothing to do with where eggs are because they are roll outs. So the coop I am planning in my head will have just one roll out community box, no separators.

 

[MountainWoman73]

I have 6 boxes and 12 laying hens. They have one favorite that everyone uses. And currently TWO of my hens have decided to brood in that box. They've been in there together for three days, growling at me and making everyone else mad because they can't get in the best box. I finally just removed it. Everyone will need to pick a new favorite nesting place tomorrow.

Harmony is restored. I used wreaths from the thrift store to "fix" two plain wooden boxes that haven't been used in over a year, and the "new" boxes are acceptable. One egg in each at 8 am.

 

[MIgardengal]

Harmony is restored. I used wreaths from the thrift store to "fix" two plain wooden boxes that haven't been used in over a year, and the "new" boxes are acceptable. One egg in each at 8 am.

Super cute

 

[TropicalBabies]

Harmony is restored. I used wreaths from the thrift store to "fix" two plain wooden boxes that haven't been used in over a year, and the "new" boxes are acceptable. One egg in each at 8 am.

Great box setup, super cozy and charming!

 

[Bill752]

We have 12 nests for 22 hens and they'll use 3-4 nests on each side & that's it. They'll double up on a nest at times but we often see them lined up on the plank leading up to the nests to await their turn. We don't allow setting hens on the nests so one is in our dog's summer dog house setting, one decided not to press her luck & found her nest in the pasture yesterday, & another hen resumed setting in a nest again. We had moved her & her eggs to a vacant rabbit hutch which she rejected so we had moved her eggs to the dog house so she lost all claim to them, but as a consolation prize I gave her some duck eggs that are due to hatch on May 5th which freed up some space in one of the incubators so she'll have her babies & that nest will be vacant of her again.

We started with just 9 pullets & just added 9 more annually but it wasn't until last year we bought metal nests, before that we used discarded microwaves.

 

[Lemon-Drop]

We have 12 nests for 22 hens and they'll use 3-4 nests on each side & that's it. They'll double up on a nest at times but we often see them lined up on the plank leading up to the nests to await their turn. We don't allow setting hens on the nests so one is in our dog's summer dog house setting, one decided not to press her luck & found her nest in the pasture yesterday, & another hen resumed setting in a nest again. We had moved her & her eggs to a vacant rabbit hutch which she rejected so we had moved her eggs to the dog house so she lost all claim to them, but as a consolation prize I gave her some duck eggs that are due to hatch on May 5th which freed up some space in one of the incubators so she'll have her babies & that nest will be vacant of her again.

We started with just 9 pullets & just added 9 more annually but it wasn't until last year we bought metal nests, before that we used discarded microwaves.

Discarded... microwaves?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Discarded... microwaves?

Just don't turn them on!

 

[Lemon-Drop]

Just don't turn them on!

Yes, I’ve heard you shouldn’t microwave eggs to cook them!

 

[JEM3965]

I have been having issues with 2 of my hens getting along for the past month.

Had some discussion on a previous post. My coop and run meet the needed space required per bird. I recently added additional roost space at the recommendation of some folks here.

All my other hens get along swimmingly, no issues. I just have one EE that particularly bullies my one BO. It’s just between these two.

I have 6 hens, 2 nesting boxes. Today I was in the coop both nests were occupied. My BO was in one of them. The EE jumped up in my presence, and started to aggressively pluck at the head feathers of the BO who was
in the box.

Is this a indicator I need more next boxes? I thought 1 box per 3 birds was plenty?

You can add another, if you have the room more is always better. They will also always have a favorite one. I have 5 and 2 hardly get used. Also, just my opinion you could always add a curtain, I did. This could help with several issues. Look up Kathy from Backyard chickens she always has great advice and you can see the curtains. Good luck.