• giveaway ENDS SOON! Cutest Baby Fowl Photo Contest: Win a Brinsea Maxi 24 EX Connect CLICK HERE!

Weird nest box behavior

Defwagpin

In the Brooder
Aug 24, 2022
5
21
29
Anyone else having these issues? My girls are constantly scratching out the bedding from the nest boxes. They lay on the bare floor. They also only use one box. The other very weird thing I've discovered is two girls using the same nest box at the same time. Usually it's the two biggest girls in the flock. For the nesting material any suggestions on how to soften the floor? The shared space? Thanks all.
 
Anyone else having these issues? My girls are constantly scratching out the bedding from the nest boxes. They lay on the bare floor. They also only use one box. The other very weird thing I've discovered is two girls using the same nest box at the same time. Usually it's the two biggest girls in the flock. For the nesting material any suggestions on how to soften the floor? The shared space? Thanks all.
All pretty normal behaviors. Chickens actually squat to lay their eggs so it could be the boxes are too shallow with bedding inside to lay. It could be there wasn’t enough bedding, my girls like to make a little bowl out of straw to lay in. It could be they dislike the bedding. What are you using? It could be because the moon is almost full lol.
 
Last edited:
All of those behaviors are 100% normal. You could have 12 nest boxes and your chickens will still only use one or two, and they'll still try and lay at the same time! There's nothing you can do about the girls trying to lay at the same time. Some people use only one long communal nest box. To soften the floor of the nest boxes I like the aspen nesting box pads. You can shape them into a bowl nest shape and the chickens can't kick them out like regular bedding.
 
My girls are constantly scratching out the bedding from the nest boxes.
A photo might help us see something, but this often means the lips on the nest are not high enough. You might try raising the lips a few inches.

They lay on the bare floor.
Are you using fake eggs in the nests to show them where to lay, I use golf balls. When mine were scratching the fake eggs out (before I raised the lip) mine would lay on the floor next to the golf ball. If you are not using fake eggs, you might try them. Put one on each nest. Sometimes they work.

They also only use one box.
That is pretty normal. By putting a golf ball in each nest I get mine to spread the laying out a bit but I still get half or more in one nest.

The other very weird thing I've discovered is two girls using the same nest box at the same time. Usually it's the two biggest girls in the flock.
Only two? I often have three in the nest laying at the same time. Haven't seen four yet. Again, very normal.

For the nesting material any suggestions on how to soften the floor?
What are you currently using for nest bedding? Some of the things different people on this forum use are straw, hay, wood shavings, carpet, dried leaves, Spanish moss, feed bags, shredded paper, sand, rags, and probably a few things I'm forgetting. I cut some tall grass from where I don't mow or weed eat and dry that so pretty close to hay.

The shared space?
Do you mean the coop floor or the run? Not exactly sure. In the coop some people use dirt, sand, wood chips, wood shavings, hay, straw, dried leaves, or some other things. Some people turn their coop or run floor into a compost pile so anything that goes into a compost pile.

The basic rule for a coop floor and the run as much as you can is to keep it pretty dry. Other than that there are no rules.
 
I'm currently using straw, but have used pine savings as well. There is no lip to the boxes. That would probably help. It hadn't been to much of an issue till this round of new gals.
I was referring to the wood floor if the nest box attached to the coop.

Thanks all for your help. The double up was a bit unnerving.
 
Definitely add a lip (mine is simply cheap wood trim screwed to the front of the boxes) and for padding, under the nest material I fold up empty feed bags (sometimes with a sheet or two of bubble wrap inside) to snugly fit the size of the box bottom. It should provide enough padding for normal shelled eggs, the birds can't scratch it out, it's free and easy to replace if it gets soiled.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom