Only using 1 nestbox?

[SkyAJK]

I put a few fake eggs in the nest box yesterday. I have yet hear any screaming for the same nest box.I think might be they all confuse seeing eggs in the nest boxes.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

I have 2 boxes and neither are used . They lay right in front of the boxes. But they use to fight over the one nesting box. Its a chicken thing

 

[SkyAJK]

I have 2 boxes and neither are used . They lay right in front of the boxes. But they use to fight over the one nesting box. Its a chicken thing

Yes, why do they do that?
One of my hen, she lays her eggs everywhere in the garden, I give her different nest box, she try them all out and finally poop an egg in the corner somewhere.

 

[Ilovemychicks08]

Yes, why do they do that?
One of my hen, she lays her eggs everywhere in the garden, I give her different nest box, she try them all out and finally poop an egg in the corner somewhere.

Im not 100%sure. Mine dislike the boxes. I built them bigger but one of my hens sleep in the boxes. Im building a new coop. So i wont be correcting it until its built and they are in it.
Ive always had one hen lead the others though if she lays in the corner everyone else does

 

[SkyAJK]

Grrrrr! Chickens are screaming for the same nest box again. I had put fake eggs in a few of the nest boxes, but it does not seem like they like it. I will let them scream until they stop themselves. I can not do anything more than that. What else is there to do???Madness

 

[AnniM]

Well, they are chicken after all. I always assumed they are competing to hatch their eggs in the prime location. When we had a rooster he would show his fav girl where to lay her eggs. Often I need to place them in the nest and show them they have other options. Fake eggs work well to fool them when you take away an egg. Mine don't fall for the golf balls

 

[WingItRanch]

Mine aren't fooled by golf balls either. I finally switched to fake wooden eggs. They're so realistic that they fool the humans, though! I had to write x's on them.

My girls sometimes lay an egg on top of each other in the same nest box but the wooden eggs have helped spread them out.

 

[BDutch]

Definitely a chicken thing. My girls will yell at each other to get out of the box that they want I have even had two of them sharing the box because one of them couldn't wait for their turn.

I get it that chickens want to lay where the egg(s) are. But my girls (usually) don't fight and don't yell. They wait quietly but very anxious for their turn to lay.

If 1 egg in every nest doesn't work .... Then maybe try some another more quiet and friendly breed the next time, for peaceful coexistence.

Faverolles can be very loud while begging for snacks too (told a friend many years ago).

 

[SkyAJK]

Im not 100%sure. Mine dislike the boxes. I built them bigger but one of my hens sleep in the boxes. Im building a new coop. So i wont be correcting it until its built and they are in it.
Ive always had one hen lead the others though if she lays in the corner everyone else does

Chickens are such a characters. Got to love them. The nest box battle continues.

 

[Love Donkeys]

Grrrrr! Chickens are screaming for the same nest box again. I had put fake eggs in a few of the nest boxes, but it does not seem like they like it. I will let them scream until they stop themselves. I can not do anything more than that. What else is there to do???Madness

We purchased 2 used commercial nest tiers. They have 6 nesting boxes each, a total of 12 nesting spots my 28 free-range hens can use. I have fake eggs and golf balls in most of them. They only use 4 of them, they actually stand in line and squabble while waiting their turn. One of our hens lays her egg on my husband's work bench, another one in the cab of our 100hp tractor. The silliest place I find eggs is in the bucket that my husband uses to keep his 5 inch lag-bolts!

Chickens are Chickens you can't do much about their reasoning. You just have to "go with the flow" and love their quirkiness....