Nest box drama

[JanKuziel]

I have 9 hens and 5 nest boxes in their coop. So of course they all want to lay in just 1 of the 5 boxes. They all stand there staring down the one who is laying, squawking at the top of their lungs for a couple hours each morning until everyone has had their turn. I’ve tried to entice them into the other boxes to no avail. Does anyone have an idea or a trick that worked to get them to use at least one of the other boxes? It’s just so noisy and I know my neighbors are being very tolerant but I wonder how long that will last. So much morning drama!

 

[Krux5506]

Do you have fake eggs in any of the boxes? I have 6 boxes in mine and typically eggs in 3 of those 6 boxes every day, sometimes two boxes. for 5 laying hens currently, I figure that's pretty good. What I've noticed though is they will lay eggs wherever more of the fake eggs are. I tried taking the fake eggs out assuming they had the habit down, and thats the one day I ended up finding an egg under the roost bar. So now I keep the fake ones in there all the time.

If I put one egg in each box, they'll lay in different boxes almost every day. If I put them all in one box, they'll all use that box. Kind of interesting, and maybe worth a try if you haven't yet.

 

[PowellPoultry]

Do you have fake eggs in any of the boxes? I have 6 boxes in mine and typically eggs in 3 of those 6 boxes every day, sometimes two boxes. for 5 laying hens currently, I figure that's pretty good. What I've noticed though is they will lay eggs wherever more of the fake eggs are. I tried taking the fake eggs out assuming they had the habit down, and thats the one day I ended up finding an egg under the roost bar. So now I keep the fake ones in there all the time.

If I put one egg in each box, they'll lay in different boxes almost every day. If I put them all in one box, they'll all use that box. Kind of interesting, and maybe worth a try if you haven't yet.

Thank you so much for the suggestion of multiple fake eggs! My favorite hen, Theda, became an egg eater, so I bought individual covered nest boxes with a sloped base and tray for the egg to roll into for safe storage. The hens entered but refused to lay in their fancy new nest boxes. The queen hen, Lila (Theda's sister), laid her eggs in the corner of the coop, and the other girls followed her lead. I added straw in the boxes to no avail. I added 1 fake egg in each box to no avail. This morning I added 3 more fake eggs only to the middle box. Tonight I found a fresh egg laid in that box. Still found Lila's egg and another in the corner, but hopefully I am on the right path. Thanks to all of you guys for sharing your chicken knowledge. I am only 16 months into chicken keeping and learn something new everyday : ) Chicken TV is the best entertainment and stress reliever in the world!