Hen aggressive about nest boxes - Is this normal?

[aart]

Sounds like the nest bully needs to find another place to live.
I doubt you can curb her behaviors.

 

[Matejka]

First, I would place nesting buckets in run. A 5 gallon bucket on side, old covered cat litter box. There are lots of things. I don't "go buy", I look around and see what I have that's usable. Then if peace is not restored. . . I
would cull/rehome Midge. Flock peace is important, and it doesn't sound peaceful in the coop.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

I can certainly see if we can put up some nesting box curtains. Maybe that will help. Thank you!

Unfortunately, I don't think we could move the nest boxes. My husband built the coop with the nesting boxes sticking out of one wall--so a chicken comes into the coop to enter a box, but we can collect eggs from outside the coop and run. We have four nest boxes, two contained in one large "box" sticking outside the coop and two nest boxes contained in a second large "box" next to it. Conceivably, we could move one large box (two nest boxes), but it would leave a massive hole in the coop wall. I also don't know if moving them inside the coop would cool Midge's fury. She doesn't like any chicken inside the coop period when she's laying or thinking about laying.

I have our nest boxes like yours. 4 nests for 5 hens. They will not lay in the same box at the same time so its like i have 2 nesting boxes. I have curtains and they like it because they prefer a darker, private place to lay. Good luck!

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

First, I would place nesting buckets in run. A 5 gallon bucket on side, old covered cat litter box. There are lots of things. I don't "go buy", I look around and see what I have that's usable. Then if peace is not restored. . . I
would cull/rehome Midge. Flock peace is important, and it doesn't sound peaceful in the coop.

I have 5 hens and 1 hen will march the roost back and forth, back and forth! She pushes anyone off that tries to jump up. I had two leg injuries before I realized what was going on in that hen house at roost time! Rosie even caused one hen to sleep in the nest box. Poor biggie wanted nothing to do with the drama. Then i had 2 hens in the nest box.....At the worst, i had only 1 hen roosting! Lol. And it was not the roost bully! Rosie actually was successful getting everyone off roost, and when she was alone, she than followed them into the nest. At almost 2 yrs old we finally have an established top hen named Delicious. She does a fine job and is the only one Rosie doesnt bully. They are drama queens at night but i have not witnessed blood so i let them figure it out. Crazy hens, i love em all

 

[Mother-Hen-Michele]

I vote with those that suggest a separate nest box (with cover or curtains) in another place (like the run or another part of the coop) and curtains on the current boxes.

Don't make your lovely husband make changes to the real nest boxes (or he will use his tools on the bully before he does on the coop).

Somewhere between checking out the other nests through those curtains and trying to also dominate the other boxes poor Midge will be exhausted and just keep one as her territory. I would not cull... Something else will occupy their days if you do, (cull again) and soon there will be just one hen, and she will be lonely.

Remember that they live in a society much like high school. You can't kill the mean girl to protect the wallflower. They are all mean girls and wallflowers simultaneously. (Aren't you both too?)