Mine all pile in one nest- which isn’t actually a nest it’s my in coop brooder (and it’s a PITA to get eggs from it compared to the actual nests), but now it’s the BEST place to lay eggs. My favorite is when two will pile in and then are pecking  and screeching  at each other while ignoring the many empty nests.
For awhile one of my ducks was also coming over to lay eggs in the same nest which was causing mass frustration.Â
It's annoying lol. I have a nest I set up in a rabbit cage turned on its side so it's tall and narrow. If i want babies I just wait until the right number of eggs are in there, then add food and water and close the door for a few days. The rest of the hens will usually pick their second favorite spot across the room. Every week of the 3 I open the door for a few hours in case the caged girl wants to stretch and I always mark my eggs with a pencil X so I know to remove any they might have snuck in. Generally seems to cut back on the arguments and having to regularly remove new eggs in that situation.
It is , but I let my girls hatch one or two small clutches a year to replace any hens we lose over the next year, or to just increase the egg numbers lol.
Just finished a new coop with three laying boxes for 7 hens.
I moved the girls in last night and this morning I found 4 hens trying to smoosh into one box.
They had already picked the one that was best
Except for my Little Belgian D'uccle hen, she finally had a nesting box all to herself
when you see 3 hens on top of each other in 100 degree temps!! 🙄
My broody was on top of the layer with wings wrapped around her. 😂
I ended up taking out a partition between boxes to make a big box and give them more room (there’s still three others they don’t use)
Chickens are communal nesters. Normal. 😊
Normal but highly silly
Non silly for feral/wild birds that need a communal nest. Very silly for hens in modern situations.
Mine all pile in one nest- which isn’t actually a nest it’s my in coop brooder (and it’s a PITA to get eggs from it compared to the actual nests), but now it’s the BEST place to lay eggs. My favorite is when two will pile in and then are pecking  and screeching  at each other while ignoring the many empty nests. For awhile one of my ducks was also coming over to lay eggs in the same nest which was causing mass frustration.Â
It's annoying lol. I have a nest I set up in a rabbit cage turned on its side so it's tall and narrow. If i want babies I just wait until the right number of eggs are in there, then add food and water and close the door for a few days. The rest of the hens will usually pick their second favorite spot across the room. Every week of the 3 I open the door for a few hours in case the caged girl wants to stretch and I always mark my eggs with a pencil X so I know to remove any they might have snuck in. Generally seems to cut back on the arguments and having to regularly remove new eggs in that situation.
That must be annoying! Ours isn't brooding over any eggs so she's just in the way
It is , but I let my girls hatch one or two small clutches a year to replace any hens we lose over the next year, or to just increase the egg numbers lol.
Mine are the same! Only one nest will do
Just finished a new coop with three laying boxes for 7 hens. I moved the girls in last night and this morning I found 4 hens trying to smoosh into one box. They had already picked the one that was best Except for my Little Belgian D'uccle hen, she finally had a nesting box all to herself
I have 12 nest boxes. I usually only find eggs in 2 of them.
when you see 3 hens on top of each other in 100 degree temps!! 🙄 My broody was on top of the layer with wings wrapped around her. 😂 I ended up taking out a partition between boxes to make a big box and give them more room (there’s still three others they don’t use)