What do hens really want from nesting boxes?

[Molly77]

My 6 young Buff Orpington hens are laying (a lot), and I had a 4-slot wood nesting box from a kit that is 11" x 11" x 12" inside the boxes. The hens barely fit, look really crammed in there and they can't stand up. I watched one lay an egg and it seemed like some repositioning and fidgeting around accompanied getting an egg out, so I built them 3 bigger boxes that are 18" x 18" x 12" inside. Put them in and the hens don't seem to like it. Do they just hate any change by default, or do they prefer to be in the nesting box super tight? I was surprised I couldn't find extra large wood nesting boxes so I had to build them. Now I'm wondering if that's because no one wants that.

 

[BDutch]

Interesting question.
If the chickens lay in the small nestbox, they obviously don’t mind that they cant stand. So its okay.

Chickens choose what they prefer best if you offer both. I wouldn’t worry.

I only interfere if the hens lay an egg or goes to sleep were I don’t want it.

2 of nestboxes are small too, but my bantams fit easily. I have a larger one outside the coop. They prefer the smaller ones most of the time. They lay under the roost on the poop board too sometimes. Especially when I have a broody or ‘something’ is going on.

 

[avjudge]

Do they just hate any change by default, or do they prefer to be in the nesting box super tight?

I don’t have a lot of experience, but I have read here of people who have communal nesting boxes—double or triple width—and their hens seem to like them. So I think it’s #1, chickens like what they are used to.

I have several nesting boxes that my free-ranging chickens have access to—two in their winter coop which has a pop door open to the outside but the roosts removed in the summer, one built into their summer coop (tractor), one freestanding that I just placed on the ground inside that summer coop. Through the course of this summer all of these have been used, but over the weeks or months they have switched which one is primarily used. For a while they will use one nearly exclusively, then one day I will notice they are using a different one nearly exclusively. I just provide the options and try to keep them happy.

 

[aart]

Do they just hate any change by default

Absolutely!
Give any change at least a week.

I tried a community nest scenario, but they preferred the 'single' sections(14x14x16), so I put the dividers back in.
Luckily I built them with slots for the dividers so it was easy to modify.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/albums/nests.7427682/

 

[saysfaa]

I agree it is the change. Mine like nests about the size of your bigger nests. I think there are fewer options for buyings bigger nests because sellers carry what sells. Buyers tend to want smaller to fit into small coops and because they cost less (less materials to build; less weight to ship), and, if they look up how big, most sources say the smaller nests are enough.

I tried communal nests also. My chickens clearly do better with individual nests.

 

[ChickenAng]

I have several nesting boxes, my hens seem to all lay in the same one, sometimes they switch it up and lay in the one beside it

 

[Callender Girl]

Very nice-looking nest box! Your chickens SHOULD appreciate it!

In my experience, nesting hens often make irrational choices -- choosing a too-small box or trying to crowd three full-sized girls into a single box (which often results in broken eggs) or standing in line and screaming at the hen who got in first.

The popularity of the boxes also seems to change. Earlier this year, all the hens wanted to rush out of their coops and lay eggs in the two open-topped boxes in the White Coop. Recently, no one likes those boxes, and everyone gets in line -- impatiently -- to lay in the Urban Coop box, which is more enclosed. The empty plastic cat litter containers in the Taj Coop were big favorites this spring (for me, too, because they are easy to remove and clean) and now No One wants to lay there.

Congrats that your Buff Orps are laying, and best wishes with figuring out how to make everyone happy.

 

[TwoCrows]

Chickens do tend to pick one box and stick with it, even if there is a waiting line 3 deep! They follow each other in laying because if the last hen was safe laying their egg in a particular box, then it must be safe for the next hen. And so it helps to keep fake ceramic eggs, (not golf balls) in each box to appear as if all the boxes can be a potential spot to lay.

All hens have the potential to become broody, something deep in their genes will always tug at this basic instinct. Broodies like dark quiet corners and another helpful thing hens may like is curtains on the front of the boxes. This creates a darkened space for a hen to hide and secretly lay her egg. Curtains also help prevent egg eating, exposed eggs are always a target for a mid morning snack. Hidden away, eggs are less likely to be eaten, out of sight, out of mind.

Here's my set up. There are 2 boxes here. See the slits? Hen slips in, lays her egg and slips out. At first you may need to peel open one side until they get used to slipping in between the fabric. These are attached at the top of the boxes with industrial staples.

 

[Shadrach]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...e-make-a-sitting-hens-job-so-difficult.74389/

 

[rosemarythyme]

And so it helps to keep fake ceramic eggs, (not golf balls) in each box to appear as if all the boxes can be a potential spot to lay.

My hens love their golf balls, though I'm currently testing to see if 2 golf balls make a box more tempting than 1 (apparently the answer is "no" ).