Seven hens using one box

[vintage]

I have two nesting boxes for my seven girls. They are new layers and are only using one box. Will this cause issues?

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

Not big ones. They might push a chicken out of one so they can lay in it, try putting some fake eggs and hay in the other one.

 

[vintage]

Not big ones. They might push a chicken out of one so they can lay in it, try putting some fake eggs and hay in the other one.

It has hay and fake eggs, I just think they prefer the one that's in a far corner.

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

Oh my chickens are like that. They'll sit on top of each other in a box-if its their favorite its their favorite.

 

[aart]

I have two nesting boxes for my seven girls. They are new layers and are only using one box. Will this cause issues?

Not unless they all get in there at once and start breaking eggs whilst shuffling for position.

It has hay and fake eggs, I just think they prefer the one that's in a far corner.

Yep, location can trump everything.
They may start using the other one in time.

 

[citymeetscountry]

Oh my chickens are like that. They'll sit on top of each other in a box-if its their favorite its their favorite.

Yep. Ditto. I will frequently find 2 or 3 of my girls piled up in one another in the same box. We have 4 girls and 2 boxes. They just all like the same ones surprisingly one day I found them all in the other box. I do frequently have 1 cracked egg (but it’s always from the same chicken so I think she just has issues)

 

[Chickassan]

The only issue I've ever had with the pile ups is when someone goes broody and everyone else ends up either bald or beardless because they still insist on laying on the ticking time bomb.

 

[linguini]

I have two nesting boxes for my seven girls. They are new layers and are only using one box. Will this cause issues?

I have two coops and six nesting boxes for 8 hens (one year old) - some days they all only lay in ONE box. This last week, they only laid in two boxes. One in each coop.

Sometimes if I distribute ceramic eggs in more nesting boxes, they will lay in those boxes with ceramic eggs. Either they can count, or they can definitely tell the difference between 0 and 1!

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

Yeah for some reason they wanna lay in the box with the most eggs!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Yeah for some reason they wanna lay in the box with the most eggs!

^^^ this.

I'm sure poultry have some reason for it, but none of my birds has ever set down and explained it to me.