Crowding in one next box and laying eggs in strange places?

[DelphiniumBlue]

I actually think that it's pretty funny that all your hens want one box. I have 18 nest boxes for 25 hens and they use most of them, but there are favorites. One barred rock hen will wait and chatter because she will only use ONE box, and ONE box only. If another hen is there, she will wait and give them a good talking to and a stare down until they leave and let her use it! I love it sit in the coop and watch what goes on!

I agree Peppercorngal, it is highly entertaining to watch their antics as three hens try to crowd into one box. Chicken TV! But I wonder if it causes them any stress? Also, I worry about our girl who has decided to lay elsewhere. I'm pretty sure it's our silver lace wyandotte, because I rarely see her on the nest box. I'm not too excited about going for a hunt all over the yard to try to find her eggs, although she seems to prefer under the lilacs. I wonder if there is something I can put there that would deter her from laying there? But then would she just find a different spot in the yard? Anyways, got some fake eggs today put in their nest boxes. I'm excited to see how they respond.

 

[LittleMissCountry]

I have four chickens and 3 nesting boxes. Three of them fight over one box, even though there were fake eggs in each box. Then one of then started pooping in one of the unused boxes, so I took all the nesting material out of that one. Mine haven't gone as far as to climb in with the laying bird, but they will stare her down and cluck at her angrily. The last layer, lowest in pecking order has started using the 2nd box.

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

I have experienced the same thing. I have 8 nesting boxes for my flock and they all have a favorite!!! I usually get eggs from just 3 or 4 boxes. I have one new layer that has to lay her pretty blue eggs right next to her best buddy while she is also laying. Hopefully she will gain confidence and start laying in her own nest!!!! Good luck!!! Enjoy those fresh eggs!!!!!

 

[Shadrach]

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We have four nest boxes available for our six girls, but they all seem to fight over one of the boxes. If one hen is sitting in the box, then another hen will seem to get aggravated. She'll make a lot of noise and strut around. Eventually the second hen will crowd into the same box, stepping on the first one. We've seen as many as three hens crowded into the same box! Has anyone else observed this? Why don't they use the other open boxes? Is there any way we can entice them to use the other boxes? I don't think there's anything special about that one box, because sometimes they'll switch which box they are arguing about, although they do seem to prefer the higher ones.

Also, we recently discovered a surreptitious clutch of several eggs under some lilac bushes and mint. I'm wondering if one of the girls, one a little lower down on the pecking order, got fed up with the bickering over the nest boxes and decided just to lay elsewhere. Again, any advice regarding how to coax her into laying in the boxes again?

That behaviour is normal here. I even get a queue of hens on the ramp to the coop all bickering over whose next.
Sometimes the hen who is next calls for the senior cock and he gets involved as well. It gets very noisy and can sound much like the general panic alarm for a predator which adds to the general confusion.
I couldn't swear to this but it seems when a hen is planning to sit on her eggs she lays somewhere else; often the last site where chicks hatched.
Out of 11 man made nest sites there are usually only three in use at any one time; there are 19 hens at the moment.

 

[Melky]

My pullets already exhibit this behavior of the favorite box. I caught three in the back corner box one night and it appears the most used and the hens put pine mulch in there over my recycled mats. They do not yet lay eggs even yet. Just practicing I guess. They are about 11 weeks old. This is not an uncommon behavior. I have ceramic brown eggs as they are brown egg layers to put in nesting boxes at about 15-16 weeks. I will put in all boxes hoping they will use all. As they get bigger I think they will use more boxes. I have three for four hens. So funny! Can’t wait to see where my eggs land.

 

[aart]

My pullets already exhibit this behavior of the favorite box. I caught three in the back corner box one night and it appears the most used and the hens put pine mulch in there over my recycled mats. They do not yet lay eggs even yet. Just practicing I guess. They are about 11 weeks old. This is not an uncommon behavior. I have ceramic brown eggs as they are brown egg layers to put in nesting boxes at about 15-16 weeks. I will put in all boxes hoping they will use all. As they get bigger I think they will use more boxes. I have three for four hens. So funny! Can’t wait to see where my eggs land.

At 11 weeks they are not hens but pullet chicks...unless I am confused and you have older birds too?
Young birds will sleep in nests(a bad habit that should be broken) unless it's prevented by closing off nests and making sure roosts are higher than nests and easily accessible.

Color of fake eggs does not really matter, I use golf balls.

FYI.....semantics, maybe, but can be important communication terms when discussing chicken behavior.
Female chickens are called pullets until one year of age, then they are called hens.
Male chickens are called cockerels until one year of age, then they are called cocks(or cockbirds or roosters).
Age in weeks or months is always a good thing to note.

 

[DelphiniumBlue]

It worked! Here are two of my girls who often liked to share a box, each in their own cozy nest. You can also see some fake eggs in an empty box. Now, if I can just get that silver lace wyandotte to lay in the boxes instead of outside . . .

Thanks again for the help!