How many nests should I have

[Larry in Hawaii]

We have 4 grown hens in a coop with 8 nests and have just doubled the size of the coop and run for a dozen 10 week old chicks that will soon share coop and run with the older hens. Just wondering how many nests I need to have for 16 or so hens. Right now the 4 that are laying seem to only use two of the nests.

 

[DeepDishChix]

You only need 1 nesting box for every five chickens. That means you will need 3 or 4.

 

[aart]

8 nests is more than enough, you could probably get away with 4.

Using fake egg and/or golf balls in most the nests can encourage them to use more nests to reduce possible squabbling and waiting lines.