breanna6627
In the Brooder
My chickens are due to probably start laying in 4 weeks, and I have a new coop. I'm also new at this. Do I need a nesting box for EVERY hen?
How many nesting boxes?
- Thread starter breanna6627
- Start date
Tomahawk
In the Brooder
- Mar 30, 2012
- 30
- 2
- 24
No you dont'! I have five hens and two nesting boxes and it's all fine. Quite often I'll check on them and see two hens sharing a box to lay in, even when there's a free box right next to them hehe! 
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How many pullets do you have, how big are the nests, and how big will the hens be when they are grown?
You certainly do not need one nest for every hen. They do like to lay in the same nests, often at the same time with other nests empty. They seem to think it is a safe place to lay if other hens are laying there. That’s why many of us recommend you put a fake egg in the nests before they start to lay to show them where to lay.
A general recommendation is that the minimum sized nest for a full-sized hen is 12” x 12” and that you have one nest this size for every four hens. Hens will lay in smaller nests but there are reasons for a minimum size. Since they like to lay in the same nests at the same time they need room to get in there. There ae some cute photos on this forum of a hen laying squarely on top of another hen in a fairly small nest. I prefer the egg be laid closer to the nest than well above it. It doesn’t have as far to fall.
If you let a hen hatch in a nest, the nest needs to be bigger. The first chicks that hatch often climb on top of Mama while she is on the nest hatching the later eggs. If the nest is so small that Mama is sitting close to the side the chick might miss the nest entirely and fall to the floor. I had that happen when I used a kitty litter bucket (not the kitty litter bin but a bucket the litter comes in). It was something like 7-1/2” wide x 11-1/2” long, too small. I tossed several chicks back in with Mama and then retired that nest.
I made my nest 16” x 16” to match my stud framing and I’m glad I did. Chicks don’t fall out of the nest when they hatch and these nests can easily accommodate three hens at a time. With nests this size you could get by with one nest for every 5 hens. I have several times.
I generally recommend you have a minimum of two nests, even if you only have 3 or 4 hens if you can. In some of those tiny coops it can be hard to fit a second nest. A second nest gives you some flexibility if something happens, like a hen goes broody.
If you have a lot of hens, say 25 or more, you can relax these rules-of-thumb a bit and go with fewer nests per hen. But don’t go too short. Even though you will probably find most of the eggs in the same few nests you want them to be comfortable laying in the nests and not have to go looking for a place to hide a nest.
You certainly do not need one nest for every hen. They do like to lay in the same nests, often at the same time with other nests empty. They seem to think it is a safe place to lay if other hens are laying there. That’s why many of us recommend you put a fake egg in the nests before they start to lay to show them where to lay.
A general recommendation is that the minimum sized nest for a full-sized hen is 12” x 12” and that you have one nest this size for every four hens. Hens will lay in smaller nests but there are reasons for a minimum size. Since they like to lay in the same nests at the same time they need room to get in there. There ae some cute photos on this forum of a hen laying squarely on top of another hen in a fairly small nest. I prefer the egg be laid closer to the nest than well above it. It doesn’t have as far to fall.
If you let a hen hatch in a nest, the nest needs to be bigger. The first chicks that hatch often climb on top of Mama while she is on the nest hatching the later eggs. If the nest is so small that Mama is sitting close to the side the chick might miss the nest entirely and fall to the floor. I had that happen when I used a kitty litter bucket (not the kitty litter bin but a bucket the litter comes in). It was something like 7-1/2” wide x 11-1/2” long, too small. I tossed several chicks back in with Mama and then retired that nest.
I made my nest 16” x 16” to match my stud framing and I’m glad I did. Chicks don’t fall out of the nest when they hatch and these nests can easily accommodate three hens at a time. With nests this size you could get by with one nest for every 5 hens. I have several times.
I generally recommend you have a minimum of two nests, even if you only have 3 or 4 hens if you can. In some of those tiny coops it can be hard to fit a second nest. A second nest gives you some flexibility if something happens, like a hen goes broody.
If you have a lot of hens, say 25 or more, you can relax these rules-of-thumb a bit and go with fewer nests per hen. But don’t go too short. Even though you will probably find most of the eggs in the same few nests you want them to be comfortable laying in the nests and not have to go looking for a place to hide a nest.
- Thread starter
- #6
breanna6627
In the Brooder
I have 19 pullets, not all of them hens. I have to separate roosters still.
I haven't installed nests, I was gonna buy a bunch of 5 gallon buckets and put them on the wall
I don't know how big they will be. I have a mix of Buff Orpington, Plymouth (barred) Rock, and Rhode Island Reds
Another question, when do roosters start fighting?
I haven't installed nests, I was gonna buy a bunch of 5 gallon buckets and put them on the wall
I don't know how big they will be. I have a mix of Buff Orpington, Plymouth (barred) Rock, and Rhode Island Reds
Another question, when do roosters start fighting?
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It depends on the individual and the breed, but usually serious fighting doesn't begin until after hens are mature (so around 20-30 weeks).
- Thread starter
- #8
breanna6627
In the Brooder
I'm gonna keep one rooster, because I want them to hatch a clutch in spring
Breanna I’m still not sure how many females you have from the way you wrote that. A pullet is a female chicken less than one year old. I think you meant to say you have 19 chickens but an unknown number are males? With 19 females I’d go with 5 buckets that size. They are pretty decent sized but not really huge. Four hens per nest isn’t a bad ratio.
My cockerels may start fighting anywhere after 12 weeks though sometimes it can be several weeks later before it starts. It does depend a lot on the individuals. Usually by 4 months they are in full fight mode but sometimes it’s a lot worse than others. Each group is different. Occasionally there just isn’t much fighting to talk about. Sometimes it’s way too exciting. Different cockerels mature at different rates. Sometimes you think the worst of the fighting is over and it flairs up again when a later maturing cockerel has to test himself.
How long does the fighting last? Again it depends a lot on the individuals. Sometimes there just isn’t much fighting to start with. Sometimes it’s over pretty much by 4 to 5 months. On occasions it can go past this, but it is subject to flair back up at any time. With living animals you just don’t get guarantees when it comes to behaviors.
If you have lots of space where they can run away from each other the fighting usually doesn’t cause serious injury, though they can fight to the death. The tighter the space the more likely the results are to being tragic. It’s also possible that you can get one specific cockerel that hates another specific cockerel and will chase him and very much try to kill him. I had that happen once. One cockerel would chase another specific cockerel with intent to do serious bodily harm. He did kill him the day before I was going to process both of them. That was at about 15-1/2 weeks old. There were several other cockerels in the flock the same age and he never bothered any of the others. It was just that one he hated.
My cockerels may start fighting anywhere after 12 weeks though sometimes it can be several weeks later before it starts. It does depend a lot on the individuals. Usually by 4 months they are in full fight mode but sometimes it’s a lot worse than others. Each group is different. Occasionally there just isn’t much fighting to talk about. Sometimes it’s way too exciting. Different cockerels mature at different rates. Sometimes you think the worst of the fighting is over and it flairs up again when a later maturing cockerel has to test himself.
How long does the fighting last? Again it depends a lot on the individuals. Sometimes there just isn’t much fighting to start with. Sometimes it’s over pretty much by 4 to 5 months. On occasions it can go past this, but it is subject to flair back up at any time. With living animals you just don’t get guarantees when it comes to behaviors.
If you have lots of space where they can run away from each other the fighting usually doesn’t cause serious injury, though they can fight to the death. The tighter the space the more likely the results are to being tragic. It’s also possible that you can get one specific cockerel that hates another specific cockerel and will chase him and very much try to kill him. I had that happen once. One cockerel would chase another specific cockerel with intent to do serious bodily harm. He did kill him the day before I was going to process both of them. That was at about 15-1/2 weeks old. There were several other cockerels in the flock the same age and he never bothered any of the others. It was just that one he hated.
- Thread starter
- #10
breanna6627
In the Brooder
I thought pullet meant any bird under a year. Thanks for clearing that up. I will install 5 16" by 16" nesting boxes even though I have less than 19 hens, just to be safe
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