Nest bix or not to nest box

[Tigermom]

My hens are 13-15 weeks old. Should I start introducing nest boxes?? If they start laying before I get them in there will they go to them and lastly do I really need a nest box if I am just collecting the eggs daily??

 

[Habibs Hens]

yes introduce to next boxes

and give layers pellet

yes you need nest boxes

hens are more happier to lay in solitary and in the dark

they don't like laying in the open or on the floor like waterfowl

 

[ChickensRDinos]

Are they roosting every night? The only concern with putting the boxes in too early is that they might start sleeping in them and you dont want to start a bad habit. You could put them in and see how it goes and take them out if you see them start to sleep there and wait a bit longer. You will want a nest box. Without one they will make their own nest and it is likely to be somewhere hidden or crazy or all over the place.

I would not start feeding laying feed until the birds are already laying. That is feed made for laying birds, it does not help young birds start to lay and has too much calcium for young non-laying birds. If you want you can add a bowl of oyster shell when they get close to laying age. Once your birds are laying you can decide to stick with a grower + oyster or switch to a layer. Either is fine.

 

[carlsaSC]

I was lucky. When my hens started laying, my nest boxes had not been constructed. They showed me where they wanted the boxes to be by laying their eggs there. So, I just followed their lead and installed three boxes for them. They will mostly lay in one box, though