Hens all want the same nesting box!

[Violanna]

I have 3 nesting boxes and my hens fluff up all three til they are content, but they only lay in one! And all my hens like this same one!! My BO gets especially angry when she has to wait her turn. I’m sure people can hear her a mile away! Is there anything I can add to my run to entertain her when she is waiting? Also why does it seem all the hens want to lay at the same time every single day!?

 

[notabitail]

I have 3 nesting boxes and my hens fluff up all three til they are content, but they only lay in one! And all my hens like this same one!! My BO gets especially angry when she has to wait her turn. I’m sure people can hear her a mile away! Is there anything I can add to my run to entertain her when she is waiting? Also why does it seem all the hens want to lay at the same time every single day!?

Our hens do the same thing. Put some fake eggs or golf balls in the other boxes and help your picky chicky into it. We got a couple of ours to stop being picky by doing that.

 

[Mrs. K]

Sometimes I have blocked off the favorite nest, and then added the fake eggs to the other nests.

Mrs K

 

[3KillerBs]

I agree about adding fake eggs to all the nests. I try to keep 2 golf balls in each myself (though the hens sometimes move them around or kick them out and lose them in the bedding).

Today I saw two hens fighting over a box to the point that one drove the other out and forced her to settle for the next box over.

No blood drawn and no eggs broken so no big deal.

 

[notabitail]

I agree about adding fake eggs to all the nests. I try to keep 2 golf balls in each myself (though the hens sometimes move them around or kick them out and lose them in the bedding).

Today I saw two hens fighting over a box to the point that one drove the other out and forced her to settle for the next box over.

No blood drawn and no eggs broken so no big deal.

That's happens with ours.
One of our Cream Legbars makes a lot of noise if someone is in "her" box. It sounds like "get.out.of.my.BOX!"

 

[Sueby]

Literally 4 hens waiting in line for the 1 magic nest box.

 

[notabitail]

Literally 4 hens waiting in line for the 1 magic nest box. View attachment 3464050

"You've got a line! Hurry up and lay your silly egg! Mine is better than yours anyway."

 

[Violanna]

Literally 4 hens waiting in line for the 1 magic nest box. View attachment 3464050

This looks just like my girls, but there is always the one pacing the run pissed off and screaming ‘hurry up!!!’

 

[Snow the brahma]

my last batch of hens where always trying to use the same nest box but they where not nice enough to wait in a line. sometimes I would come out and find 3 chickens stacked in one nest box all trying to lay their eggs, while the other two nest boxes where completely empty.