Should I make another nest box?

[PirateGirl]

Last night I placed a basket with straw in it in the coop to serve as a second nest box. It was a holiday food gift basket in its past life and seems to be the appropriate size. We'll see if anyone uses it today. Only two girls laid yesterday, which means at least 3 (or more) girls are due to lay today.

 

[PirateGirl]

So as recommended, I gave the girls another next box. They hate it. No one lays in it. The one problem chicken, the newest layer, that does not use the old nest box, does not use the new nest box either. I placed it in the coop where she had previously been making her own nest and laying in the shavings, so instead she made a nest in the other corner of the coop and laid there instead (which of course it the hardest spot for me to reach and collect an egg), and when she lays in odd places sometimes her eggs get missed at collection time and freeze and split overnight. So, back to the drawing board I suppose. Time to hunt around for something else to try and make a nest box out of.

 

[lazy gardener]

My girls have 8 boxes available, yet there will be 2 in a box, with a third standing on top of them, and yet one more standing in front of that box telling them, "Hurry up already. I gotta go!" @PirateGirl They would probably love a milk crate tipped on side with a board screwed across the bottom front. If you have the space available to give them a community nest (at least 12 x 24") that would meet your needs also.

 

[lazy gardener]

Try placing all of the day's eggs in the new nest box for a few hours. (as long as it remains above freezing.)

 

[PirateGirl]

Try placing all of the day's eggs in the new nest box for a few hours. (as long as it remains above freezing.)

I don't know why I didn't do this?!? From the beginning with the old nest box there were always a few rocks in there (my fake eggs) to show them where to lay. I will move the rocks and a few fresh eggs to the new nest box and see how it goes. If it doesn't work, then I will try for something else. I think I have a milk crate around too I can try.

 

[PirateGirl]

I get the "hurry up I gotta go" too... I noticed a bird standing on the ramp a long time the other day, pretty sure she was waiting for the favorite box to open up, and blocking the entrance to the coop in the process

 

[azygous]

My layers are like @lazy gardener describes. I have maybe fifteen layers and five nest boxes. They typically use two or three favorite boxes.

Even though your hens may continue to use the one nest, it's advisable to have an alternate just in case there's a hen who absolutely needs to lay when someone else is hogging the one nest. Holding an egg in isn't good for the hen, and it can lead to oviduct issues if it gets to be a habit.

Here's a suggestion in case you might ever want to have a broody incubate and raise chicks. Find a nice spot out of the way in a corner on the floor for this second nest. Later it can be utilized as a broody nest and since it will be on the floor, it will be safe and convenient for baby chicks to get in and out. Better still, place it where you can isolate it when a broody is occupying it to preserve the safety of incubating eggs and later on, the chicks.

 

[PirateGirl]

Try placing all of the day's eggs in the new nest box for a few hours. (as long as it remains above freezing.)

So I messed up, even with your warning I got home around 2:00 in the afternoon. There were only 2 eggs from 5 chickens and they weren't from the non-conformist, so there was a chance of a few late day eggs. I moved the 2 eggs to the new rejected nest box with the fake eggs. Then my actions were erased from my memory, never checked the nests again, locked up the chickens, went to bed, it was below 0F last night and I froze my eggs! It was possibly only 2, but the kicker is that I only have one left on the counter.

 

[Erin80]

We were using a Coca Cola crate as our nest box for our 6 hens - but we needed something bigger, so my husband built a nice big covered nest box with two openings. We placed it where the crate was. Now all 6 hens continue to lay on the left side of the box, which is where the crate was....and nobody will use the right side, lol. The option is there, but they choose to wait their turns for the left side of the box. I have 6 new babies coming in April, so maybe once they're integrated into my original flock they might use the right side! I plan to add one more box also on the other side of the coop since we will have 12 hens.

 

[PirateGirl]

still having troubles. I was thinking they perhaps didn't like the new nest box because it wasn't the most stable. They have moved it, flipped it, etc. So I re positioned it and screwed it in place, filled it with nice fresh straw and put the fake eggs in. This week I have not found eggs in the chickens' homemade nests in the wrong corner of the coop (but problem not solved), but instead I have found broken eggs in the run! To make things worse, it's not just the newest most confused layer anymore, but sometimes another chicken that previously laid in the right spot every day! and I managed to break another egg in my down jacket pocket last night and drip egg all over the dog's back. I will give it another week with the current improved nest box set up, but if the laying habits don't improve I will trying something else.