nesting area help

[misskris10]

We are finishing up our chicks coop and we're not sure how much space to give them for nesting. Should we do individual areas for each chicken? or will they share space. My boyfriend was thinking about getting bus tubs from the restaurant he works at and let 2 use each bus tub. They would be easy to take out and clean. but im not sure if they will share their nesting space.

 

[Beekissed]

You'll free up space in your coop and make it easier on yourself if you make outside accessed nest boxes. Chickens will share nests but they don't like to do so...they like deep, dark and private places to lay their eggs. Err on the side of more than you think you will need so there is less crowding or fighting for nest space...and in case you increase your flock later on or have a broody hen taking up a nest.

Here's a thread that may give you some ideas: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/41108/show-us-your-nest-boxes-ingenous-design-post-it-here

 

[Chickenman10101]

Your chickens will share the space but you need to have one nesting box per 2-3 chickens as the more dominant chickens will kick the chickens lower down the pecking order if there is no more free spaces to lay. But when a chicken goes broody (if you have broody breeds) then that will one less nest box.

 

[rojororeo]

We have 3 nest boxes for 14 hens with no issues. The # i always heard was 1 box to 5-6 hens.
I also recently hung some curtains for the boxes, which they love. I took some feed bags (be sure they are the type that have coloring/writing on them, as that will keep it from shredding for the next steps). Measure the boxes to see what size you need. Then cut them into inch-ish wide strips, while going 1-2 inches short of the top, as that will be how you hang them. Just tack/nail them up in front of the boxes.
How do I know they like them you might ask? They don't yell at me or each other anymore, running out in a panic when I try to clean the coop. They stay quietly in their box and lay their egg and hop out.
They also stopped sleeping in them, which is a great plus I hadn't expected! So I can stop using my next box block now Less work!
It also protects them from potentially pecking each others vents during laying... google that one.. yelck poor girls!
You can use fabric hung normal style, but I am cheap, and they like the strip style, as it is on their access door too.
Good luck!

 

[3chickchicks]

I have one for my four hens. Occasionally they have to share but no problems yet. I use shredded junk mail as nesting material. It kind of resembles straw. They pick it up and put it on their backs. Plus, it's free and the supply is never ending.

 

[rojororeo]

I have one for my four hens. Occasionally they have to share but no problems yet. I use shredded junk mail as nesting material. It kind of resembles straw. They pick it up and put it on their backs. Plus, it's free and the supply is never ending.

Ha, us too! I use straw for the floor, and also a bit in the nest boxes, as we have a literal ton from my horse's stall rest due to surgery... didn't realize we would need so little.. only used about 4 bales.. then I went and cleaned through that and put it into the coop! That was lots of fun poop picking for them! lol
In a year of chicken keeping, I have barely used 1 bale.
They love the texture of the shredded paper! But cross cut, not straight... I kid you not... my old cheap straight shredder, they threw out of the nests.. the cross cut small pieces, they love to nest and put on their backs. Go figure.

 

[3chickchicks]

Ha, us too! I use straw for the floor, and also a bit in the nest boxes, as we have a literal ton from my horse's stall rest due to surgery... didn't realize we would need so little.. only used about 4 bales.. then I went and cleaned through that and put it into the coop! That was lots of fun poop picking for them! lol
In a year of chicken keeping, I have barely used 1 bale.
They love the texture of the shredded paper! But cross cut, not straight... I kid you not... my old cheap straight shredder, they threw out of the nests.. the cross cut small pieces, they love to nest and put on their backs. Go figure.

Mine's cross cut too, lol!

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don’t know what size he has but those bus tubs sound great. You’ll probably find we do more different things for nests than anything else except for different coops. You might find these fun to look through to see what I mean.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/41108/show-us-your-nest-boxes-ingenous-design-post-it-here/220

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-your-creative-nesting-boxes/80#post_12395882

It’s not unusual for to or even three hens of mine to be on the same nest at the same time even when other nests are empty. They will definitely share. It’s also not unusual for practically all the hens to lay in the same one or two nests. They seem to like laying where others are laying, sort of like they figure if another hen is laying here it much be a safe place.

You’ll get different recommendations for how many you need. That’s understandable. People are talking about different conditions. One thing that affects that is size. A normal recommendation is to use a minimum of 12” square nest for full sized hens. Some hens will lay in a nest smaller than that, but it’s a good minimum size. If the nests are larger, they can share better so you may not need quite as many. Some people use a “community nest box” maybe 4 feet long and 2 feet wide that can handle 25 hens.

Another factor is how many laying hens you have. The more hens you have the more hens per nest you can get away with. A fairly common recommendation for just a few hens is one nest for every four hens. If you have quite a few hens, say 20 or more, you should be OK with one nest for every five hens. Even then they’ll mostly use the same one or two.

 

[misskris10]

Thanks, i did check out the nexting box link. We have cats and saw that some people used the big litter boxes as nest, but could be deadly if they tip over. The bus tubs are maybe 2ft X3ft. He was going to get like 3 or 4 of them. We had 6 chicks, they are about 2 months. But i went to pick up some straw and some scratch from the local feed store and now we have 10 chicks because i just picked up 4 more chicks who are 1 week. Its pretty warm here in florida so as soon as the night temps are warmer than my older girls will be going outside to their coop.

 

[sepaditty1]

Hahahahaha. You're now a victim of the chicken math! Get used to it, it's an incurable equation.