I'm gonna have close to 25 chicks when it's all said and done... don't know how many hens I'll have. How many nesting boxes should I put up, and do I need them in the coop now? My oldest is 4 wks old.
General guidlines is one box for every 4-5 hens or so. I have 5 boxes for my 20 hens and of course they all lay in the same 3 and ignore the other two...
Mine are 13 weeks and there are no nest boxes in the coop yet. They will go in in about a month, closer to point of lay. I don't want them to sleep in them and start a bad habit.
My 100sqft(+/-) coop should be good for about 25 birds, and I studded out space for eight 12"x12" nestboxes. Everything I've read recommends one box for about every four birds, so I was thinking my eight boxes would be sufficient for more birds (32) than the coop could handle..