Why do all our hens want to use the same nesting box?

[AuntieWeasel]

Chickens. The reason is chickens.

 

[clembone]

The domestic chicken was developed from the Jungle Fowl. The JF had a rooster and an alpha female, along with several other females, perhaps three or four tops. The alpha female was in charge of the nest, and did the brooding and raising of chicks. All of the females laid eggs in her nest. The big advantage here is that there was a clutch very quickly. Alpha female then sits on all of the eggs and hatches them out.

Modern chickens with any of these old fashioned notions still think the best thing to do to protect against predation is make a quick clutch in one place fast. So they all use one nest.

This is the reason why old timers put a golf ball or a wooden egg in the nest box. The hen wants to lay an egg where there is already a clutch started.

Anyway, that is the story I heard to explain it.

 

[DMackie]

The domestic chicken was developed from the Jungle Fowl. The JF had a rooster and an alpha female, along with several other females, perhaps three or four tops. The alpha female was in charge of the nest, and did the brooding and raising of chicks. All of the females laid eggs in her nest. The big advantage here is that there was a clutch very quickly. Alpha female then sits on all of the eggs and hatches them out.

Modern chickens with any of these old fashioned notions still think the best thing to do to protect against predation is make a quick clutch in one place fast. So they all use one nest.

This is the reason why old timers put a golf ball or a wooden egg in the nest box. The hen wants to lay an egg where there is already a clutch started.

Anyway, that is the story I heard to explain it.

Thank you for that explanation. It makes sense to me!