Should I make another nest box?

[PirateGirl]

I have 5 chickens, 1 nest box. When constructing my coop after doing much reading, it seemed one nest box may be sufficient for 5 birds. They don't all lay every day. I live in a cold climate and read that the constant rotation of birds in the box may help keep the eggs from freezing. It sounds like others experience that their flock picks a favorite nest box and they don't use all the nest available anyway. My girls were slow to start laying and now they are approaching a year old and spring is coming and all five are laying with more regularity. This week I found my newest/youngest layer had made her own nest in some pine shavings and laid there instead of the box. I've found some oops eggs from new layers in odd places, but this was a very deliberately created nest. Now this may be because she doesn't quite get it yet, but I'm wondering if I may need another nest box? Too many girls trying to lay at the same time, or one of the girls higher in the pecking order dominating the box? How many nest boxes would you have for 5 layers?

 

[Pork Pie]

Why not just add a plastic basin, using soil as ballast and trying that? I used plastic basins as nesting boxes with great success. No construction, cheap and portable

 

[lissalischicks]

I read 3 nesting boxes to a chicken when calculating how many to make. I will tell you iut is true that they have favorites. I have 3 for eight chickens and they love one of them. They will lay in the other ones but it may not be there first choice.

 

[Hazelbunny]

You should at least make a second nest box. Some hens might break eggs to make room for her egg or her egg might break the other eggs if the box is full.
The hen that made her own nest probably wanted to lay in the nest box but another hen was in there I think you should make another best box so you won't have to go for an egg hunt everyday.

 

[cholland]

I would go with a second nest. I started by just dividing my 4' nest box in half. 2 large nests, plenty of room. But I was finding eggs on the floor or in the run. I split the nest box into 3 sections and no more eggs in odd places.

I think the 1 box to 3 hens ratio is better.

 

[imnukensc]

A cheap, covered cat litter box works well. Something like this:
https://www.chewy.com/petmate-hoode...p9h-SFg3cGQtXblDzSoaAgDqEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

[PirateGirl]

Thanks for the input everyone! I'm probably not doing construction, but have various cat litter pans, buckets, baskets, milk crates, etc. I think I can throw something in there with some bedding and see if they take to it. If not, I can try something else or go back to one box without much effort or time/money spent.

 

[HenOnAJuneBug]

Chickens are curious, inquisitive creatures that like variety. They will lay eggs about anywhere there is some form of a nest and semi-privacy. A large box on my porch has become popular with about 5 hens after I used a piece of fabric to make a bowl-shaped nest in it. The only reason I did that is because they were poking around looking for another place to lay eggs. They already had more than enough nest boxes

 

[GC-Raptor]

I have two nest boxes and five Golden Comets. I have seen several times a hen waiting for a nest, and even seen two in one nest. If you have high egg producing chickens, like a sex-links or maybe white leghorns. I recommend a nest for every two pullets/hens. When my girls were pullets they laid early morning, most days by 8am. A 25 hour cycle of egg laying was never taught to my girls. GC

 

[Egghead_Jr]

I think you should always have at least two nest boxes. Three if more than ten layers and four for fifteen to twenty layers.