How many chickens per nest box?

[Idranoel]

1:1 or do they share? I know, it's a newby question.

 

[Suburban chick farmer 09]

4 chickens per nest box.

 

[chickenannie]

typical, though, for the silly girls (hens) to lay in one or two nest boxes when they have 10 to choose from. they'd rather line up and wait for their "favorite" nest.

 

[FarmerDenise]

I have six nest boxes at the moment and 7 hens. They all insist on laying in the same box

 

[Laskaland]

I get away with more, it seems that they all like two in particular and I wind up with 8 or 9 in that box, while the rest have five or 2 or... I have actually watched them staring each other down, waiting to get their turn in that particular box, lol

I would go with 4 per box to be safe

 

[PortageGirl]

Oh my goodness no!... NOT 1:1 they'll fight over the same nest, or two nests... depends on how many you cluckers you have. 30 hens, 4 nests, is enough for me, though, many people have 6 nests just because that's normal. I have ... well 4.5 nests, three regular sized ones, and one 'double wide' nest. Most like the double wide one, (or close to it... maybe not quite an actual double)

They really prefer to share the extra wide one.

 

[lichick28]

I have 5 hens & 3 nest boxes but they all wait for one box. They start sqacking telling them to hurry. Its like kids waiting to get in the bathroom

 

[ams3651]

i have 5 chickens and 2 nest boxes, I usually get 4 eggs in one and 1 in the other.

 

[Portia]

I have, uh, 13 hens that are laying right now and 3 nest boxes in the coop (and a couple more outside), they use all 4 some days and on others only 2. I tell you, there cause quite a stir when they want to lay and the box they wish to use is occupied...yow, they could wake the dead

Still, its more a preferential thing for your hens, just 'cause you have more boxes doesn't mean they'll use them.

 

[Judy]

I have 5 hens and 5 nests. Some days I get 4 eggs. They use one nest box. When i had 16 hens they used two or three nest boxes. But the favorite nest box sometimes changed....