Do your girls fight over nest boxes?

[chickstofeed]

sometimes i'll go in there and there will be two hens in the same box

 

[math ace]

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I do this and they still lay in the same boxes. I usually find most eggs or a few eggs in one box and some of the six empty. I just don't get it. I thought it was because they are three high and there are two sets, but looking at these pictures of boxes all at the same height that may not be the problem.

Nutters

Rancher

I have found that they will lay where the MOST eggs are. . . . So starting with golf balls works, but if one hen lays an egg in the nest and there are 2 eggs in the nest and one next door, they will chose the one with two eggs. If I go out and find two or three eggs in the nest - - -I spread them out and then the girls will lay in all the boxes. OTHERWISE, it is a SCREAMING traffic jam while everyone waits on the box with the most eggs in it!

 

[Cass]

I am sitting here laughing at all of this. It's only funny to be because just last night I was planning on how many nest boxes to start with for 4 hens. SO said "4" , one for each chicken. I said 2, they would share. Seems that ONE will work. That's all they will use anyway and I don't own any golf balls, so I have to buy them to "seed" the nest; save me money on golf balls.

 

[math ace]

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I LOVE your signature line. By the way, we belive in enabling folks NOT delivering (saving) them. You will want at least two nest boxes BECAUSE there is absolutely NO WAY you are going to STOP with 4 hens

 

[Cass]

Quote:
I LOVE your signature line. By the way, we belive in enabling folks NOT delivering (saving) them. You will want at least two nest boxes BECAUSE there is absolutely NO WAY you are going to STOP with 4 hens

WHAT WAS I THINKING??? We have to have FOUR. Let him think he knows something about chickens. I win. He thinks HE does, but I DO.

I didn't meantion that my FIRST coop is 8'x8' for these 4 hens and one roo. Or that I am currently looking for 2 silkies....can even be too old to lay, I want them for their broodiness. AND I found someone who will hatch eggs for half the hatch. I don't own a SINGLE CHICKEN and already chicken math is getting me.

 

[CarolAnn]

Quote:
My hens do this too. I have 25 girls and 6 nest boxes, and all the boxes get used. But there is one favored box, and some of the girls will pace and fret until they get their turn. Sometimes one will peck at the one in the box to get her out. I hear some pretty strange noises from some of my girls when others approach them in the nest. It's both interesting and entertaining to watch.

 

[BarnGoddess01]

I have 8 boxes for 12 hens. (I hope to double our numbers this summer.) No one box seems to be favoured but on a daily basis usually only 3 or 4 are used. However, one day last week I arrived at the coop to see 7 contented hens using 7 of the 8 boxes. I was thrilled!!! Made all my work seem worthwhile. (But even with 8 boxes to choose from, I usually see the ladies arguing over boxes and even saw one desperate hen actually lay her egg on another of my hens that had decided to try to oust her from her chosen box when she was past the point of no return.)

 

[new chick 203]

Ok, So this morning I go to let the girls out and I hear a big commotion from the coop. I look in and there are 2 eggs in the RIGHT nest. They are from the same two who squabbled about LEFT nest yesterday. Both eggs were warm so it looks like they squeezed there big butts in together at the same time. So it looks like the preferred nest is the one the other is sitting in.

 

[pitterpat4353]

My ladies are doing this fighting over one box. I have 4 hens (2 BR 2 wellsummers) and 3 nesting boxes. They usually lay in the same nest, or the secondary nest. The third box has never had a egg in it! The one lady (wellsummer) paces and sings her egg song the whole time the other is laying. Now, she has started pushing out the other hens eggs from the nest box. Luckily, I use a deep litter method so they don't break. But, she is pushing them over a 3 inch ledge. So I try and check several times a day to pick them up. Is there anything I can do to stop this behavior?