How many nesting boxes do I need?

[chickens802]

I currently have 26 hens and 2 roosters. They are all almost 4 months old now and I am trying to make I give them what they need to start laying. I have 5 nest boxes up now but from what I've read I think I should have 1 or 2 more. Tell me what you think and any other tips for preparing them to start laying!

 

[3KillerBs]

Welcome to BYC.

Theory and guidelines say 1 box for every 4 hens, but practice and theory don't always line up.

Can you show us pictures of your setup?

My instinct is to say that you are likely to need more nestboxes if you find that hens are consistently and persistently laying outside the boxes (after the confused pullet stage), that eggs are being broken by hens scuffling over the boxes, or if you get some birds guarding and/or camping out in the boxes and not letting others in.

I'm in the "feed all-flock with oystershell on the side" camp as far as feeding goes -- especially since you've got cockerels.

You may find that your boys start to fight as they feel their hormones. Sometimes two boys will get along if they grow up together and have generous amounts of space so that they can each have their own territory. Sometimes they don't.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I currently have 26 hens and 2 roosters. They are all almost 4 months old now and I am trying to make I give them what they need to start laying. I have 5 nest boxes up now but from what I've read I think I should have 1 or 2 more. Tell me what you think and any other tips for preparing them to start laying!

Thumb rules are 1 box per 4 or 5 laying hens, plus one. With 26 hens, I'd call that six boxes or seven if you have production breeds or decent to good dual purpose. If your breeds are infrequent layer types, you don't need as many boxes. You can use fake eggs, golf balls, and similar to give them the idea of where to lay, don't be surprised if the first few eggs don't actually appear there. New layers tend to miss a few times, even when an experienced flock is around to demonstrate proper behavior.

Makes sure they are dry, well padded (straw, pine/whitewood shavings, etc), and below the level of the roosts (to discourage birds from sleeping in there.) Also, don't be surprised if you get more eggs in one box than another, if they seem to have favorites, or "wait in line" even when other boxes are available. Neither should you be surprised when favorites change. Those are all normal chicken behaviors).

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Follow up - depending on breed and individual (and assuming you are northern hemisphere), given declining light levels, it may be that your birds will delay start of lay until the Spring. Very few breeds begin laying around 4 months, and even then there is broad individual variation. "Start of Lay" is more like a firm suggestion than something to set calendar by. My Dark Brahma, for instance, all started around 7 months. My Wyandotte between 6 and 7 months. My Comets, famed early layers, were mostly around week 18, one might have been as late as week 20. the rest of my birds between month 5 and 6.

 

[MysteryChicken]

My standard coop has 11 hens, & 2 pullets.
I gave them 5 boxes, works great.

 

[Ridgerunner]

What size are your nests? There is a general rule of thumb of 4 hens per nest, but that is for nests 12" x 12" and more for production laying breeds, like the commercial operations. Larger nests can accommodate more hens. My nests are 16" x 16", it is fairly common to see three hens in a nest at the same time laying eggs when other nests are empty. Larger hens may need larger nests to crowd more in them. I've had nest hogs. Not only are these unwilling to share a nest they may take a really long time to lay. Many broody hens are willing to share a nest but some don't. As mentioned, not every hen lays every day. Some lay mostly in the morning but some lay throughout the day.

There are too many variables for us to use hard and fast numbers. That's why we have to use guidelines, general rules of thumb that work for most of us. For 26 hens 5 nets might be enough, especially if the nests are a bit larger. But I'd feel more comfortable with 6. As others said, you will probably get most of your eggs in a few nests. They are usually not evenly distributed. Which of my nests get the most eggs can vary, sometimes daily but more often they follow a trend in weeks before they switch.

I'd have the nests open now, at least some of them. Sometimes pullets start looking for a nest that is a safe place to lay a week or so before they actually start to lay. If your nests are not open they may start laying somewhere else before they consider your nests. Part of that looking may involve scratching. If you find fake eggs or bedding on the coop floor that may be telling you that you need to add a higher lip on the nest to stop them from scratching things out. If they decide to sleep in the nests I want to retrain them before I start getting poopy eggs.

You can't control when they start to lay. Commercial operations do that by breeding in that trait and by manipulating lights. That way they know when to switch food. It's not the food that starts them laying, but they can provide certain nutrients, mainly calcium, when they need them because they are going to start. Instead of switching to Layer at a certain time I'd suggest you provide oyster shell separately so the ones that need it for their egg shells can get it. The others should not eat enough to harm themselves.

Waiting on those first eggs can be frustrating. I've had some start as early as 16 weeks, I've had some wait for 9 months to start. I wish you good luck but the time to get ready is now.

 

[chickens802]

Thumb rules are 1 box per 4 or 5 laying hens, plus one. With 26 hens, I'd call that six boxes or seven if you have production breeds or decent to good dual purpose. If your breeds are infrequent layer types, you don't need as many boxes. You can use fake eggs, golf balls, and similar to give them the idea of where to lay, don't be surprised if the first few eggs don't actually appear there. New layers tend to miss a few times, even when an experienced flock is around to demonstrate proper behavior.

Makes sure they are dry, well padded (straw, pine/whitewood shavings, etc), and below the level of the roosts (to discourage birds from sleeping in there.) Also, don't be surprised if you get more eggs in one box than another, if they seem to have favorites, or "wait in line" even when other boxes are available. Neither should you be surprised when favorites change. Those are all normal chicken behaviors).

Thanks so much! Great help.

 

[chickens802]

Th

What size are your nests? There is a general rule of thumb of 4 hens per nest, but that is for nests 12" x 12" and more for production laying breeds, like the commercial operations. Larger nests can accommodate more hens. My nests are 16" x 16", it is fairly common to see three hens in a nest at the same time laying eggs when other nests are empty. Larger hens may need larger nests to crowd more in them. I've had nest hogs. Not only are these unwilling to share a nest they may take a really long time to lay. Many broody hens are willing to share a nest but some don't. As mentioned, not every hen lays every day. Some lay mostly in the morning but some lay throughout the day.

There are too many variables for us to use hard and fast numbers. That's why we have to use guidelines, general rules of thumb that work for most of us. For 26 hens 5 nets might be enough, especially if the nests are a bit larger. But I'd feel more comfortable with 6. As others said, you will probably get most of your eggs in a few nests. They are usually not evenly distributed. Which of my nests get the most eggs can vary, sometimes daily but more often they follow a trend in weeks before they switch.

I'd have the nests open now, at least some of them. Sometimes pullets start looking for a nest that is a safe place to lay a week or so before they actually start to lay. If your nests are not open they may start laying somewhere else before they consider your nests. Part of that looking may involve scratching. If you find fake eggs or bedding on the coop floor that may be telling you that you need to add a higher lip on the nest to stop them from scratching things out. If they decide to sleep in the nests I want to retrain them before I start getting poopy eggs.

You can't control when they start to lay. Commercial operations do that by breeding in that trait and by manipulating lights. That way they know when to switch food. It's not the food that starts them laying, but they can provide certain nutrients, mainly calcium, when they need them because they are going to start. Instead of switching to Layer at a certain time I'd suggest you provide oyster shell separately so the ones that need it for their egg shells can get it. The others should not eat enough to harm themselves.

Waiting on those first eggs can be frustrating. I've had some start as early as 16 weeks, I've had some wait for 9 months to start. I wish you good luck but the time to get ready is now.

Thanks so much, I believe I have 14 x 14 boxes. I have a leghorn that is about 3 weeks older than the rest and started laying a few weeks ago. She seems to have gotten the hang of the whole thing and has been laying consistently in the same box. This morning I found a brown egg on the floor in the corner of the coop which seems to be a popular place for the pullets to start laying but, the leghorn egg was also on the ground right in the middle of the coop. Is this normal for it to mess up the others we a new hen starts laying? Also, what is your opinion about feed them there egg shells crushed? Can than incorage egg eating? Thanks again for all the info this is really helpful.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Thanks so much! Great help.

Learned by making mistakes, and by paying careful attention to the pronouncements of some of the more experienced posters. Aart, 3KBs, NatJ, Ridgerunner, Molpet, Eggcessive, Overo Mare, Azygous, Mystery, Alaskan, RoostersAreAwesome, RoosterML, JacinLarkwell, CMom, Kiki, and a ton of others. You will get to recognize names and areas of expertise pretty quickly. We don't always agree (particularly on how to feed), but every one of those posters is willing to share why they have come to the opinion they have, and I personally find the "why" to be more valuable than the "what" on many occasions.

Welcome to BYC, and good luck on your chicken journey!

(I have 7 nests, btw, in the original coop - my flock is in my sig, but its deceptive, roughly haqlf are below laying age. Recently added 5 more nests, none of them get used - I can speculate why, but until more time passes, I can't be sure.)

 

[3KillerBs]

Is this normal for it to mess up the others we a new hen starts laying? Also, what is your opinion about feed them there egg shells crushed? Can than incorage egg eating?

No, it doesn't normally mess the others up, but new layers take a while to become consistent.

I have not found that offering crushed eggshells starts egg eating. As a precaution I make sure that they're crushed down to flakes. Not powder, but not anything that looks like a shell.