When do I need nesting boxes?

[3KillerBs]

I was thinking of using golf balls cause that's what I have currently and fake eggs are out of our budget at the moment. As far as fake eggs go, do I always leave them in the nest boxes or can I take them out after they learn where to lay? Haven't seen that mentioned anywhere.

I use golf balls.

They do no harm, may help, and are easy to tell from actual eggs by touch when you're reaching under a hen to get the eggs out of the nest.

 

[aart]

I'm not sure why folks push the fake eggs so hard if you already have layers.

It help 'spread the love' so all the nests get used....especially with newly laying pullets in the flock.

 

[TheStooges]

Two of our ladies started laying at 17 weeks. We put fake eggs in all but one box and they started laying in the empty box. So we took them out. But they still prefer to lay together!

 

[CNJ]

Chickens are curious, its good to put the fake eggs out before they start laying, so they learn its not a treat.............

 

[Ridgerunner]

3 are speckled sussex which start laying at 20 weeks and I think a blue orpington which starts at 24 weeks but I wasn't sure how soon I need a nest box or wait until they're almost ready to start laying?

Sorry you have been so misinformed. Not every pullet of a certain breed starts laying at the exact same age. Breeds have tendencies and may have average ages they start to lay, but some can start way earlier than average, some way later. Start date for individuals can be all over the place. Months apart.

About a week before they start laying many pullets start looking for a safe place to lay. Not all do that but many do. If the nests aren't available when they start looking you may be training them to lay somewhere other than your nests. The earliest I've had pullets start laying is 16 weeks. I'd have the nests ready before that.

There's another reason I want the nests open early. It may tell you if you are going to have problems so you can fix those problems before they start laying. Part of their looking for a safe nest often involves scratching. If you find the bedding or a fake egg on the coop floor it may be telling you that you need to raise the lip on your nest to stop them scratching real eggs out when they show up. If they start sleeping in the nests it tells you in time that you can ix that problem before you get poopy eggs. I don't see any benefit in delaying putting the nests in there. I like to fix things before they become a problem, it's less stressful.

Fake eggs do not guarantee that a pullet will lay in the nest. It can help show them that it is a good place to lay but it doesn't guarantee they will lay there. Look at it as an encouragement. I saw a fake egg gets scratched out of a nest onto the coop floor after they had been laying a few months. A hen laid an egg next to that fake egg. When I put that fake egg back in the nest (and raised the lip a bit) she went back to laying in a nest. I've seen hens "hide" a nest, lay somewhere other than in the nest. Other hens start laying in that new nest. Having a fake egg in the nest did not stop that hen from deciding to start laying somewhere else and did not stop other hens from following her. I'm convinced that other eggs in the nests can encourage them to lay there but it won't guarantee that they will. Some seem to like laying in there own nest. Each chicken is different.

I use fake eggs, golf balls. I keep one in each nest all the time. I don't see where it hurts. Many people have flocks where practically all the eggs are laid in the same nest. I usually have one nest that is more popular (and which nest that is can change) but I think my fake eggs get the eggs more scattered into other nests. Not that all of the eggs being laid in one nest is a problem, but some people seem to think it is.

The way I see it fake eggs do not hurt and in some cases can help. I just don't see the harm.

 

[aart]

We put fake eggs in all but one box and they started laying in the empty box.

I had a pullet once that refused to lay in the nest with a fake egg.

I use fake eggs, golf balls. I keep one in each nest all the time. I don't see where it hurts. Many people have flocks where practically all the eggs are laid in the same nest. I usually have one nest that is more popular (and which nest that is can change) but I think my fake eggs get the eggs more scattered into other nests. Not that all of the eggs being laid in one nest is a problem, but some people seem to think it is.

This^^^ Most the time they still pick their favorite nest, but if they all want to lay at the same time, which can happen, the fakies can get them to use the other nests.

 

[TheStooges]

I’m definitely not against fake eggs! I have them around for when the others start to lay and actually still have one in one box.

 

[CNJ]

If I place 3 fake eggs in an unused nest, they will lay in that box.

 

[suburbanfarmermi]

My oldest chicks are 10 weeks old and we built the coop without nesting boxes because we were short of materials but had planned to add them on eventually. I was planning to make a basic box on the floor until we can build the external boxes. 3 are speckled sussex which start laying at 20 weeks and I think a blue orpington which starts at 24 weeks but I wasn't sure how soon I need a nest box or wait until they're almost ready to start laying?

I would build them as soon as you can. we covered our nesting boxes up until we found our first egg. We did not want them hanging out and pooping in there. The next day they started laying in the nesting box. I prefer the nesting boxes that are built onto the outside of the coop. Many of the nesting boxes inside the coop create more flat surfaces for the chickens to poop on. the only flat surfaces in my Hen house are the roosting bars and the floor. Since the floor is covered in deep litter it is simply to clean out.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I assumed once the older ones learned where to lay, any new ones would just follow their lead.

Maybe...

Two birds from my 2nd batch of chicks didn't figure out what the nest boxes were for until after they began laying, even though they remained open and accessible 24/7, with laying hens using them the entire time they were growing up. Not sure how they missed the bank of nests with fake eggs, but once I popped them into the nests to show them that's where they should lay (right when they were looking for a spot to lay), it was like a tiny light bulb went off in their brains.