4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[beach chick]

I think I read somewhere on here that you need to allow one nesting box per 4 birds - is that correct?

 

I'm a bit concerned because in a few weeks time I will have 4 chooks per eglu (1 with 4 laying big girls, 1 with 3 silkies and a light sussex, all now 11 wks old).

 

as they freerange all day (only in the eglu and run to sleep and maybe half an hour in the morning if they get up before I do), and all pile in a huddle to sleep anyway, I thought it would be ok to add 2 exbatts to the flock come the end of August (on the list for our next local rescue), and was planning to put them with the laying girls eventually, after they've settle, intros all done etc.

 

should I not get the exbatts then? cant afford to trade up to a cube (and the babies too young to mix in with big girls for a good few months I think), dont want another eglu really.

 

when I've had 4 laying before they've all queued up to take their turn, with the odd egg on the bars or in the run, but maybe 6 would be too much.

 

mmm, perhaps I'd better rethink? would love to give some exbatts a nice home, but dont want to overcrowd them. I'm too impatient, I have wanted exbatts since the beginning but they are never there when I NEED more chooks!

 

thanks for any advice.

[frenchlayer]

I've always thought it was 3 to a box. so it sounds like you would need another box.

[..lay a little egg for me]

I was told 4...

[*mummy_hen*]

I have 5 ex-batts but quite a large nest box, they all use this happily....sometimes all at the same time!!

[Guest]

I was advised a max of 3 per nest box.

[Egluntyne]

Defra say 1 nest box per seven hens maximum, so any less than that is within legal limits.

 

I have always followed the advice that it should be 4 per nest box max, with no problems whatsoever.

 

I suppose it depends on the size of the nest box.

[Helen&Lee]

It's a little daft to be told 3 per nesting box - surely you would need to know the size of the box to say that?

 

....And if so why does the cube have 1 nesting box but can hold 10 chooks?

 

Well, all I know is I've had 4 Brahmas in there at the same time (broody )and the others were still squeezing in to lay their eggs!

 

There are some on here though who say there girls won't lay when there are other chooks in there so I guess it depends....

 

Helen

[Egluntyne]

I've had 5 in my cube nest box at one sitting.