Nest box crowding...

[my first peepers]

Despite what I've been told one nest box has turned out not to be enough for my 5 girls. So I added a second, same size, same straw, same wooden egg. They won't go near it. My SLW spent 1/2 hour squaking at one of my EEs because she took her spot! What will it take to get them in the new nest box?

 

[scooter147]

You can try placing a fake egg or gold ball in the extra box but you will find that for whatever reason they pick one or two nests and stick with it. I have 8 nest boxes and they have two they prefer to lay in and I have 28 hens, so you can imagine what it is like in my coop.
I have actually had hens lay their egg on the perches in front of their favorite nest holes. I have the Kuhl brand of nest boxes and they have the perches that are several plactic "bars" in front of the holes and a egg rest nicely in the spaces of the "bars".

 

[Wynette]

Yep, they all seem to want to lay in the same few boxes. I've noticed, though, that the favorite boxes change depending on the time of year. Interesting.

I've even seen one of my girls stand on TOP of another in the nest box and lay her egg while standing on top of her friend! Yep, cracked when it rolled to the floor. Sigh...

 

[RHewitt]

You may try putting really fresh bedding hay in the new box as an enticement to move to another spot. Good luck.

 

[ozark hen]

We have 8 nesting boxes and they favor two! So when someone lays an egg I put it in another nesting box and soon it is occupied. I also use golf balls. I don't let that egg stay there long, though.

 

[98 gt]

Mine have plenty of open boxes, but the araucanas tend to stay away from the boxes... They have laid eggs on the floor, or in the woods in some brambles. But never in the boxes. The RIR and white leghorns and bantams love the boxes, occasionally they will use the brambles as well.