All About Chicken Nest Boxes - And How to Make Sure Your Hens Use Them!

Making sure your hens lay their eggs in the nest boxes you provide can be a bit tricky and can cost you eggs if you can't find the spot they've chosen as an alternate laying location. Steve & Brian talk about how to set up ideal nest boxes to entice your hens to use them.
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[@augustrain5500]

Two of my girls have decided my big flower pot on the deck is where to lay their eggs. I love them but they are crazy! LOL

[@HobbyFarmGuys]

I found an egg in a flower pot once. It was quite a surprise. Hens are crazy!

[@HandyAndyCap]

Great info as always! Well done guys.

[@HobbyFarmGuys]

Thanks! And thanks for watching!

[@CFarnwide]

😂 😂 😂 Our ladies found a spot right in the middle of a thick Thistle/Stinging Nettle patch… Not fun gathering those! Our biggest problem is they all HAVE to lay in the same spot and get pretty vocal about their displeasure when it’s occupied. Stubborn little girls!

[@HobbyFarmGuys]

My hens all want the same spot too. If one changes which box she uses, they all follow suit!

[@davidpalmer8667]

Great content hobby farm guys! 😊

[@HobbyFarmGuys]

Thanks David!

[@clairemerryfull941]

Great info

[@HobbyFarmGuys]

Glad you think so!

[@paramedicchrisbookseries]

Awesome. My latest book involves a chicken, paramedic Chris and the runaway chicken.

[@HobbyFarmGuys]

I’m curious now 🤔

[@TammieBuckeye]

Thank you both for such great information.

[@HobbyFarmGuys]

Our pleasure!

[@angelface7766]

Wow great tips we just started and are excited

[@HobbyFarmGuys]

Glad we could help! We have lots of other chicken topic videos to check out!

[@johannaguzman9521]

Hello, I am going to buy a mini home for chickens. I just wanted to make sure I understood, 2 nesting boxes is for 8 chicken minimum, correct?

[@HobbyFarmGuys]

2 is the minimum…3 is preferred…and they will probably all want to use only 1 😂

[@johannaguzman9521]

@@HobbyFarmGuys thank you

[@musicteacher5757]

Another crazy hen story: a Cochin hen that has gone broody twice. First time she apparently kicked out the baby chicks as they hatched, I saved 5 from dying in the cold. 2nd time, no eggs hatched. AND sometimes she sets long enough to spoil the eggs then leaves the nest. Or sleeps in the nest box for 2 or 3 nights, then returns to using the roost!

[@HobbyFarmGuys]

Thanks for sharing your story!

[@mikebrines5708]

Time to make some soup

[@mikecavemansavage1936]

My hens use everything but the nest box provided Or will use them and leave them I clean it but I don't think it's that I think they want to go broody and I'm stealing the eggs lol I have a leg bar going broody on a plastic light bulb in the clear bin with several screw drivers I'm thinking about putting a frozen egg under her to remind her that winter is coming lol

[@HobbyFarmGuys]

😂 Some hens just won’t do what they are supposed to!

[@mikecavemansavage1936]

@@HobbyFarmGuys but a light bulb lol

[@naomihatfield3015]

Stubborn pullets! I confine them to a coop at night, and just opened up the nest boxes last week, when they hit 18 weeks old....and they are laying on the floor of the coop, near the food bucket, and completely ignoring the lovely nesting boxes with the fake eggs. I switched from a washable pad to nesting material, added a freestanding box (with fake eggs) and they still ignore the boxes. I am finding the eggs cracked from hitting the floor, it's so frustrating!

[@HobbyFarmGuys]

Oh wow! Chickens don’t always do what we want! Sometimes it takes them a while to figure out where to lay.

[@amazinggraceranch6793]

How do you know when to open the nesting boxes for young hens?

[@HobbyFarmGuys]

If they are joining an existing flock, I don’t worry about it at all. The older hens will keep them in line. If it is a new flock, I usually wait until they are 4-5 months old so they don’t try to use the boxes for sleeping or pooping.

[@gregjohnson5846]

Great content guys! One quick question regarding the size of nesting boxes. Somewhere I read that 12w by 12 d by 12 h was a good size and mine are about 11.5 w by 12 d by 12h. After I built the box I saw several articles indicating that was too small. Some suggested 14x x 12 d x 18 h. What size do you like? I saw another chicken guy indicate that the box shouldn't be too big to discourage chickens from sleeping in them. If it helps we just got some Australorps which aren't quite laying yet. Thanks for your thoughts.

[@HobbyFarmGuys]

I like 14x12x18, particularly when it is a large breed like the Australorp. They will probably be fine with a somewhat smaller box, but once they have fully grown watch them. If they seem to be uncomfortable, get larger ones. And put larger boxes on the wish list.

[@gregjohnson5846]

@@HobbyFarmGuys thank you for your response. Guess I'll figure out a way to remodel mine before the chickens need it.

[@benreber2277]

I gotta question. I am designing and building my coop currently. It is a popular and common style to make the nesting boxes on the outside of the box so you can open it and get the eggs. I am building basically a micro shed for the chickens and it will be cheaper to keep predators out if I design it with the boxes inside the shell structure of the house. This will make it so collecting eggs is going inside the coop to get them. Will this disturbing result in the chickens not laying inside the coop anymore and secondly will they lay if the roosts are directly above the boxes. Still enclosed boxes though.

[@HobbyFarmGuys]

Whether you build the nest boxes to be accessible from the outside or if you go inside to collect eggs is just a matter of preference. Your chickens won’t be bothered by this much of at all. In fact, if you are feeding when you collect eggs they might look forward to your visits. When placing roosts, keep in mind they will poop a lot while roosting, so if the poop is going in the nest boxes or piling up in front of it, the nest boxes might not be very attractive to them.