Is nest box to BIG?

[fdehaven]

My nest box is 40" long do I need to partition it? I will be keeping 7 hens. Not sure if they will use it without partitioning it.

 

[FortWorthChicks]

I bet they would use it either way. Mine will squeeeeeze into one nest together (thats apparently the good nest for that day) so seems like if it were extra large it would be great, no more squabbling over a nest.

 

[PunkinPeep]

since they seem to always pile in together in the same nests, i will be interested to see how they do for you. i have a feeling that if you train them to lay there, they will like it just fine - and possibly fight less over the same 12 inches of space.

 

[gsim]

I doubt you would need to, but you could halve it or even make 3 in the space you have.

 

[CityChook]

My nest box is not quite that long (it's 24 inches) but it works out just fine. Kind of like a trough. They get up in there together and lay side by side. I've never had a broken egg either.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

I've stopped putting in partitions in my nest boxes. These last few tractors I just mount the box and let the birds figure out how they want to arrange it because no matter how I try to set them up they never use all of the nests. Each box is about four feet long, about 14-18 inchs deep (depending on whether chickens or turkeys), about the same high with a few inches of litter across the bottom.

Some times I'll find eggs in two places, but as often as not every one of them will lay in the same spot.

.....Alan.

 

[sherrydeanne]

I'd probably section it into two, as a small nest (14" or so) and leave the rest as a larger nest. There are some chickens who refuse to share; I had one who would lay ALL over the place, she had to have some privacy. If there was someone else on the nest, she just found a new one LOL.

 

[Uzuri]

Mine's about 36" and they all squeeze into the front corner anyway. Silly chickens.

 

[silkiechicken]

I have a laying box that is 2x4... from 3 hens to 20 hens... they would all try and use ONE corner!

 

[PandoraTaylor]

I have decided to try a 6 ft long nesting box that is 16" wide for my hens, as when they have a divided nest I find that they crack a egg every couple of days from fighting over the Best Nest, and it is not always the same box.
So the new coop will have a nest trough (6' x 16" x 16" tall) instead of a box. that way there should be no fighting for the nestbox at all.
Of course I will post results after they have a chance to use it.