They are all bullies!

[Ext 918]

I read 3 to 4 hens per nesting box, i have 12 hens, so I purchased 3 boxes. Now that all the hens are laying it's been a bit busy. Today turned in a full battle. Bloody combs, squabbling, and screaming.

I fed them some canned insects to calm everyone down and then sat to watch who was causing the problem.

ALL OF THEM. If they are in the box, they are a target. As soon as one laid her egg and got out, she would go and attack the one who climbed in, who was the bully just moments before.

I cut down 2 cardboard boxes as an emergency fix and ordered 2 additional boxes that will be here tomorrow.

I will say that I have open boxes. It is so hot that I do not want to take the chance with a closed box and having a hen get heat stroke in the box. We already lost one to heat stroke and I'm very concerned about it.

I have 11 eggs and 12 bloodied combs. As soon as everyone is done with the morning production, it's peaceful.

Would spreading the boxes out throughout the run be helpful?

All of my hens do the squat, 2 a bit less than others. No one hen is super alpha. They will even shift in their roosting spots with no real problems.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Any photos of your nest boxes? I understand that you don't want to close them in, but they might be far too open or too small if there's that amount of squabbling going on.

Are all the birds the same breed and same ages, or is there a range?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agree, photos of your nests might help. Also, what size are the nets in inches or centimeters? That can be hard to tell by photos alone. I'm not worried about breed but the ages might be helpful. How big is the coop and how big is the run? How long have they been laying?

Over the years I've had a nest hog, a hen that was unwilling to share her nest. It took her three hours to lay her egg and she would not let any other hen near her until it was laid. I've seen a mature hen grab a pullet by the head and jerk her out of the nest so the hen could lay in there by herself.

But this behavior is not normal. I often see three hens in the same nest at the same time laying eggs together with the other three nests empty. What you are describing doesn't coincide with what I regularly see. That does not mean I don't believe you, it's just not normal with my flock.

I don't know how much adding more nests might help. I'd think if that were the solution some would be finding other places to lay anyway without you providing additional nests.

Typically when I have behavioral problems it is just with one or two individuals, not the whole flock. I can solve the problem by eating the troublemakers. With this being your entire flock I'd be looking at something that affects the entire flock. Lack of room is sometimes the culprit but it could be something else.

 

[Ext 918]

Adding the extra nesting boxes seemed to fix it. No more fighting today.

All of the girls are RIR from the same hatchery, I received them February 25th.

I've attached a photo of the nesting boxes, they are very much open. They are 12.5"x16.1".

There is no coop. Only an open air run. It is 10'x20', covered 3/4 with a tarp. The roosting bars are oversized for the flock, 4 bars at 4' long.

I had 20 at first, lost a chick on day 2 and then split the flock with my brother in law few months ago. They began laying at the beginning of July.

Up until yesterday there have been no real issues. I have 2 that are more assertive than the others, but not problems. If I notice them acting bossy when I'm in the coop, I just make them squat, give them some scratches afterwards and it's all good.

 

[Ext 918]

Side note, the nesting pads were changed yesterday. This morning when I took the photo, there was a mess,(it can be seen on the bottom left hand corner of the box on the left). It appears to be all egg white. Ick. I moved the hen to another box and cleaned the mess.