How many nesting boxes are suitable for this amount of birds?

[cherrynberry]

As both @JacinLarkwell and @cherrynberry have stated above, you have enough nesting boxes as is. The "thumb rule" is one box per five layers, though like most thumb rules, it varies a bit. There is some advantage to having more than the thumb rule suggests for small flocks.

You can see my flock in my signature, below. Ignore the ducks, they lay on the ground. I have 46 chickens at present. 12 are hatchlings. A couple are roos. a few have not yet begun to lay. Call it 25 layers +/-, I have seven boxes. More often than not, all are empty. On occasion, I'll find a layer "waiting her turn" for a box, while four boxes are empty! And while there tends to be "favorite" boxes for no discernable reason, they will frequently, and just as inscrutably, change "favorites", seemingly at random.

Yeah, 3 boxes work nicely for my flock. They originally ONLY used 2 of the boxes, but since we have a broody hen right now, they lay in the other 2. So on average, they only use 2 or 3 boxes per 14 chickens and 13 hens

 

[poultryprofessor]

Rule of thumb is 1 nest box for every 4-5 hens. It's interesting to hear that your birds lay in different boxes because I usually find that everyone seems to like the same box.

 

[demonic]

Rule of thumb is 1 nest box for every 4-5 hens. It's interesting to hear that your birds lay in different boxes because I usually find that everyone seems to like the same box.

One is a Delaware mix and is pretty huge to compared to my smaller easter eggers and boss them around a lot and gets angry if someone tries to lay in her box, even when she is finished laying for the day! The one trying to lay just moves to the nesting box to the side to avoid problems

 

[Thanera]

My girls are silly and between all 9 of them they use really only one box out of the 3 available

 

[Mrs. K]

Chickens definitely follow the idea if someone else laid here, it must be a good spot. They are also notional. I have 4 built in nests, generally about 8-12 hens, and they almost always use two.

My nests are small, one bird at a time. But today I went to the neighbors to take care of her birds while she was gone, and she has nests she bought, and in several of the nests I found two birds at one time.

If you start getting a lot of egg breakage, you might need to add one more nest. Sometimes too many birds getting into the same nest - can break eggs.

Mrs K

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Oh ok, good to hear. I was worried the coop wouldn’t have enough space if I did add 3 more nesting boxes because my nesting boxes have stairs that take up lots of the coop. (In the picture you can see the 3)

I've more concern with your roosting bars - which should always be above the level of the nesting boxes, to discourage birds from sleeping in them (and leaving "non egg" deposits behind when they do so). It looks, from the picture, like your lowest (and longest) bar is the same height as the nest boxes.

Of course, my eyes could be deceiving me, its a very small screen I'm using right now.

 

[demonic]

I've more concern with your roosting bars - which should always be above the level of the nesting boxes, to discourage birds from sleeping in them (and leaving "non egg" deposits behind when they do so). It looks, from the picture, like your lowest (and longest) bar is the same height as the nest boxes.

Of course, my eyes could be deceiving me, its a very small screen I'm using right now.

Yeah, we noticed that and wondered why they never slept on the roosting bars so we blocked off the shelves and now they start to sleep there a little more, however they still prefer to sleep on top of the nesting boxes

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Yeah, we noticed that and wondered why they never slept on the roosting bars so we blocked off the shelves and now they start to sleep there a little more, however they still prefer to sleep on top of the nesting boxes

In chicken minds, "higher is better". I have some that prefer, particularly when the weather is nice, to sleep on the ridge line of my coop, and the top of the door. Only rarely do I feel the need to button up the coop - but I'm willing to accept more losses to predation than most.

 

[turkey girl 0964]

However it's ideal to have one for each

30 nest boxes?!?!?! Not for me I have 8 and they only ever lay in 4 of them. I mean if you have only like 3 or four chickens than you would be able to accomplish a nest for each.

 

[turkey girl 0964]

I currently have 3 hens and 3 nesting boxes. 1 is recovering from worms and still isn’t laying yet and the other 2 lay in seperate nesting boxes. However, I have 10 ISA brown chicks still in the brooder who are around 6 weeks (I know it’s time for them to start going out but I’m postponing it for a week when I come back from vacation so I can monitor them when outside) and I’m going to give away or eat 3 of those chicks so I’m going to have 10 hens total. ( my 3 current hens + 7 isa browns ) but we are wondering how many nesting boxes we need to have… because isa browns lay everyday and If I have 7 I’m going to need over 7 nesting boxes. I was thinking of just adding 3 more nesting boxes so in total I would have 6 because my current hens are easter eggers and usually lay every other day. Is 6 nesting boxes enough?

Yes, six will be fine, you might even be able to get away with your 3. I wouldn't put any more boxes. Not all the hens lay the same time soo they aren't all going to need a nest box at the same time.