Nestbox

Backyard Poultry

Hen in Lower Nest Box

Here’s one of the young hens trying out the nest box. At first they’d lay their eggs almost anywhere, but soon they became very particular about laying, preferring nests that already had eggs in them. You could tell which hens were lower on the pecking order, since they’d have to leave the more-desirable nests if higher-up hens wanted to lay! We had this double-decker nest box to use when the chickens were out in the runs, and two boxes in the henhouse. The ones in the house were opened from the outside—but, for the hen’s sake, no spying when occupied!!