/ Register

  1. If this is your first time on BYC, we suggest you start with one of these three options:
    Raising Chickens Chicken Coops Join BYC
    If you're already a member of our community, click here to login & click here to learn what's new!

How to get hens to lay in NEW, TOP ROW boxes

Discussion in 'Chicken Behaviors and Egglaying' started by ahoward, Aug 26, 2014.

Most Liked Posts
  1. Aug 26, 2014 #1
    ahoward

    ahoward Out Of The Brooder

    11
    0
    22
    Aug 26, 2014
    My four, one-year-old hens have been laying in two milk crates on their sides, on top of concrete blocks (also on their sides). My other five hens just started laying a few weeks ago, so I made two more boxes out of office crates and secured them to the top of the milk crates. I have golf balls in all boxes.

    None of the hens have gone up to the top layer of boxes to lay in them. Since we have nine hens, I know they need three or four boxes, so I was hoping they would use the top row.

    Any ideas?

    My set up looks a lot like this, only the bottom row are sitting on concrete blocks laying on their sides. Maybe the top boxes are too high?

    I have a perch as well.

    http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_tiXC-itfl0k/S-K4GQq3WVI/AAAAAAAAAbY/dbSPcqVHWB8/s1600/013.JPG
     
  3. Aug 26, 2014 #2
    Judy

    Judy Moderator Staff Member

    34,028
    449
    448
    Feb 5, 2009
    South Georgia
    Looks good to me!

    The rule of thumb is usualy given on BYC as one nest to 4 hens. Honestly, if the eggs are going into the nests and they seem happy, I don't know that I'd change anything. Until recently I had 9 hens and 5 nests; there used to be more hens. They usuallly laid in two of them. Sometimes they would switch around, but still usually used only two. If they wanted to lay somewhere new, it was as likely to be in a corner of the coop as another nest. It;s very cmmon for them to have a favorite or two, and the rest go unused.
     
  5. Aug 26, 2014 #3
    JMarch

    JMarch Chillin' With My Peeps

    135
    12
    128
    Jan 20, 2010
    Louisiana
    place some fake eggs (wooden or ceramic) or even golf balls in the nests you want them to start using- they'll check it out and think "somebody else thinks this is a good place to lay- maybe I will too".
     
  7. Aug 26, 2014 #4
    Ol Grey Mare

    Ol Grey Mare One egg shy of a full carton. ..... Premium Member

    16,490
    4,510
    481
    Mar 9, 2014
    Oregon
    My Coop
    X2 - if/when they feel the need for more laying space they will seek out other places to lay and may start to investigate the new boxes. But if you are not having a problem with eggs turning up on the floor, etc and they are happy sharing those two boxes I don't see a problem. Even with 9 hens, two boxes is not necessarily insufficient.
     
  9. Aug 26, 2014 #5
    ahoward

    ahoward Out Of The Brooder

    11
    0
    22
    Aug 26, 2014
    I am actually not positive that all are laying in the boxes... I am not sure if all the hens (out of the young five) are laying yet. I seem to be getting five to six eggs a day. Does that seem low for 9 hens? As I said, some of the young possibly are not laying yet.
     

BackYard Chickens is proudly sponsored by