Could not enough nesting boxes cause flock issues?

[Bill752]

You gotta share some photos- Way to think outside of the box and to repurpose!!!

 

[Bill752]

Just before we bought this place my Specialist suspected that I was terminally ill & "comforted" me by saying that they'd make me comfortable in Hospice. In the ER that night I told them what he'd said & that I wasn't ready to lay down & die yet so they referred me to see our family Dr which I already had an appointment to see the next day. The next day was almost a repeat from the night before & nothing more could be done for me at that time so I got up to leave & almost went down & she said to wait for a wheelchair. That night oxygen was delivered & I've been going strong since. That is quite a stump in front of the 2 microwaves & a reminder that where the backyard is was all the farther we could go when we bought the place. On this side of the grass was a jungle that you couldn't even crawl through. It took us 5 months to clean the land & find the East boundary & after we finished fencing the perimeter I told my wife that was just too much work & money spent on fencing to leave the land idle. Where our black wagon is in the chicken pen was a part of this pen where the microwaves are. The microwaves are in the #1 brooder pen while I collect eggs from the White Rocks-that's the left side of one in the bottom microwave. You can't see the brooder shed that I built in this picture but on the other side of it is a rabbit hutch & brooder pen #2. And on the other side of the brooder pens is my wife's garden. The pasture borders the chicken pen, the East brooder pen. & the garden & extends all the way to the South boundary fence. Since my health isn't good we keep expenses down as much as possible & to say that my wife did most the work is not an exaggeration but she was willing to learn & I was happy to teach her. We'd found the rabbit hutch in the jungle & she tacked it together enough so we could move it where I wanted it & then spent $200.00 building the brooder shed so that I could do the chores. Except when I had Covid & during December & January I've been able to do chores every day & to me makes that $200.00 shed worth it. Am I terminal? Hard to determine, I haven't died yet & was out at 5:30 am doing chores, but the day isn't over with yet so maybe not. Feel free to copy our nesting design.

 

[TropicalBabies]

Just before we bought this place my Specialist suspected that I was terminally ill & "comforted" me by saying that they'd make me comfortable in Hospice. In the ER that night I told them what he'd said & that I wasn't ready to lay down & die yet so they referred me to see our family Dr which I already had an appointment to see the next day. The next day was almost a repeat from the night before & nothing more could be done for me at that time so I got up to leave & almost went down & she said to wait for a wheelchair. That night oxygen was delivered & I've been going strong since. That is quite a stump in front of the 2 microwaves & a reminder that where the backyard is was all the farther we could go when we bought the place. On this side of the grass was a jungle that you couldn't even crawl through. It took us 5 months to clean the land & find the East boundary & after we finished fencing the perimeter I told my wife that was just too much work & money spent on fencing to leave the land idle. Where our black wagon is in the chicken pen was a part of this pen where the microwaves are. The microwaves are in the #1 brooder pen while I collect eggs from the White Rocks-that's the left side of one in the bottom microwave. You can't see the brooder shed that I built in this picture but on the other side of it is a rabbit hutch & brooder pen #2. And on the other side of the brooder pens is my wife's garden. The pasture borders the chicken pen, the East brooder pen. & the garden & extends all the way to the South boundary fence. Since my health isn't good we keep expenses down as much as possible & to say that my wife did most the work is not an exaggeration but she was willing to learn & I was happy to teach her. We'd found the rabbit hutch in the jungle & she tacked it together enough so we could move it where I wanted it & then spent $200.00 building the brooder shed so that I could do the chores. Except when I had Covid & during December & January I've been able to do chores every day & to me makes that $200.00 shed worth it. Am I terminal? Hard to determine, I haven't died yet & was out at 5:30 am doing chores, but the day isn't over with yet so maybe not. Feel free to copy our nesting design.

Bravo, bravo, bravo!!! That is quite the story not many get to tell! Happy to hear of you trudging the path to happy destiny! And happy to hear of your fiercely strong company. What a pair hugh?!
Well, jungle? Not sure where you are at so I conflate jungle with tropics/NC/FL??? Yes, heck of a stump with tripping roots but I bet the chooks like to stand and exercise their toes

Well, I come from a long (2-3 gen) line of reuse/recycler's and live on a small island where getting things shipped in the past was much more of a movie. The peoples have resourcefulness in their blood here and it is awesome, so I appreciate you giving that ol' microwave another chance b4 it lands in the magic landfill. It is going to make me take another look and rethink my next nest boxes. Micro would be too hot for me I think but hey, there is a world of sh*t out there that can do the trick.
Sorry to hear of your health scare and then another scare on top of that... and when I say scare... I don't mean the watered down version of it. Way to hang tuff and I hope you are enjoying the heck out of everything, always.
Glad you are getting help, fresh eggs, fun and the satisfaction of a job well done! Thanks for the picture and post!

 

[ChickenGirl300]

It wouldn't be a bad idea, but it isn't the sole problem.

I had 5 chickens and even though there are 3, they always fight for the same nesting box, and it is always the one that's already occupied.

 

[Bill752]

Bravo, bravo, bravo!!! That is quite the story not many get to tell! Happy to hear of you trudging the path to happy destiny! And happy to hear of your fiercely strong company. What a pair hugh?!
Well, jungle? Not sure where you are at so I conflate jungle with tropics/NC/FL??? Yes, heck of a stump with tripping roots but I bet the chooks like to stand and exercise their toes

Well, I come from a long (2-3 gen) line of reuse/recycler's and live on a small island where getting things shipped in the past was much more of a movie. The peoples have resourcefulness in their blood here and it is awesome, so I appreciate you giving that ol' microwave another chance b4 it lands in the magic landfill. It is going to make me take another look and rethink my next nest boxes. Micro would be too hot for me I think but hey, there is a world of sh*t out there that can do the trick.
Sorry to hear of your health scare and then another scare on top of that... and when I say scare... I don't mean the watered down version of it. Way to hang tuff and I hope you are enjoying the heck out of everything, always.
Glad you are getting help, fresh eggs, fun and the satisfaction of a job well done! Thanks for the picture and post!

By jungle, I referred to the underbrush, the vines, & the thorns as a jungle because it was impossible to even crawl in there without clearing a path. We live in the "tropical" Arkansas full of mosguitoes & oversize bugs. With the monsoon we got swamps, during the Summer dry spell we get the heat. Lost a hatch of chicks once because the heat was unbearable. Reality is that we live in central Arkansas & it isn't a tropical climate & the Winter season is proof of that. You're welcome for the picture.

 

[2goodVT]

If anything, most of us have noticed we have more than the number of nesting boxes required to fulfill the needs of our hens. What we do notice is that hens want the nest that's occupied, no matter that there are plenty of unoccupied nest boxes.

Two hens squabbling over a nest has nothing to do with not having enough nest boxes. I've seen three hens crowded into the same nest, and toss in the rooster on some days. They don't care that there is an empty nest right next to it. If another hen is in the nest, they want it.

Gotta love ‘em