Nest Box Tips & more Egg FAQs
Refreshed 8th March 2025, Updated Sunday 11th June 2023, first published Saturday July 6 2013
Nest Box Rules
- Have enough nest boxes. One box for every 5 hens is the general rule of thumb. Chooks like to share laying boxes so it is not necessary to allocate a box per chook.
- Make nest boxes private and appealing. Ensure that your nest boxes are in a dark, quiet corner of the coop. Hens have the instinct to lay their eggs in a safe space. Boxes should be raised off the coop floor and preferably secluded. Sometimes a partial curtain over the nest box entrance for added privacy can make a big difference. We use thick black plastic sheeting and staple this over the nest box entrance. We then cut a v shape at the entrance to the nest box and cut the rest of the curtain into strips. This gives the hen a peek-a-boo hole to enter with the easy option of pushing out again. The black plastic can be easily removed when cleaning, re-stapled and reused.
- Make nest boxes comfortable. Line them with soft, untreated wood shavings. As the hens frequent them the shavings get depleted and hens tend to avoid them. The eggs are also more inclined to get broken. So refresh regularly with shavings.
- Gather eggs early and often. Best to collect eggs daily or if you can manage it collecting in the morning and late afternoon. Twice a day collection ensures clean eggs, and also discourages dirty, broken and eaten eggs.14
- Keep nest boxes dry and clean. If there is chicken poop in the nest boxes remove it when collecting the eggs and replace with fresh shavings. Likewise, if a hen has broken an egg, clean up the mess quickly and thoroughly, removing all wet or soiled shavings. Broken eggs if ignored can lead to egg eaters and egg eating is a learned behaviour and very hard to break. Usually the best solution to stop egg eating is to dispatch the culprit.
Appletons Top Tip to Discourage Hens Sleeping in Nest Boxes
Here at Appletons we recommend when you first bring your young perching pullets home and settle them into their new hen house remove the nest boxes or cover the nest boxes with a piece of cardboard. This will stop the young pullets huddling in the nest boxes or roosting on the edge of them. If they only have the perch available then they will roost on the perch. Once pullets have got into the habit of roosting on the perch they will return to the same spot each night. At POL uncover the nest boxes, fill with shavings and add a pair of fake or brood eggs.
If you own an Eglu Cube or Eglu Pro Chicken Coop then it is as easy as sliding the door closed to keep the young pullets out.(see above emage)
For naughty hens that persistently foul the next boxes we recommend covering over the nest boxes at dusk and physically placing the hens on the perches.
This might need to be done for a week or so until the hens gets the hang of it.
Do fake eggs in the nest box encourage hens to lay?
Yes! Here at Appletons we use fake eggs (we like the wooden ones) to encourage our girls where to lay. When POL pullets get ready to start laying place a couple of fake eggs in one of the nest boxes to show them where to lay. This will give them the idea that the boxes are "the place" to lay their eggs. Hens are often visit the nest boxes that eggs and hens are already occupying.
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Lay Mrs. Heritage Hen Lay! 🥚🥚🥚
The incredible egg and what triggers your hen to lay it
Yay! The shortest day has past and from now on the days will be lengthening out and delighting us with more daylight hours.
It is the increasing daylight hours that will trigger your pullets and hens into the lay. Roll on spring. Age of course is also a factor. For pullets in the heritage breeds point of lay (POL) can be anywhere around 24 to 32 weeks or longer for the slower maturing breeds. It is also important to bear in mind when your pullets were hatched during the season. In our experience those hatched out early in the season (June/July) will come into the lay in late summer (January/ February) whilst those hatched out from November onwards will often mature in late autumn. These late hatchers will wait till the days start to lengthen and think about laying late winter or early spring. The commercial hybrids on the other hand are programmed to be laying machines. They are designed to come into lay around 18 to 24 weeks depending on the season. We have found daylight hours do impact to some extent on when they commence laying. Those that are POL when the length of the day is long (summer) come into lay sooner around 17 to 18 weeks and winter POL birds are usually later around 22 to 24 weeks.
There is a pea-sized gland inside the brain of our chickens called the pituitary gland. When the chickens’ eye perceives increased daylight it does not go unnoticed by the pituitary gland. This controlling gland is then stimulated and produces a hormone that is carried via the bloodstream to the ovary which sets egg production in motion. So as the longer days arrive with more sunshine and warmth so the laying gets underway. A hen lays eggs during daylight hours, typically between 7am and 4pm, producing no more than one egg about every 25.5 hours.
Chickens need 12-16 hours of light, either natural or artificial, to produce consistently. One reason why chickens lay eggs less frequently in the colder months is that there are a fewer number of daylight hours. Through the winter, heritage poultry have normally no interest in breeding. There are good reasons for this because, in the wild, the reduced day light, general lack of food and cold weather are not suitable conditions for breeding. Most birds also go through the moult during this time, this period of rest is important to replenish reserves and prepare for the new breeding (laying) season ahead.
Chickens can live for many years and continue to lay eggs for many of these years. However, after two or three years many hens significantly decline in productivity. This varies greatly from bird to bird. Good layers will lay for about 50 to 60 weeks and then have a rest period called the moult. Even commercial hybrids after their first season of lay (12 months) will show a drop off in production and undergo a partial moult.
Here at Appletons we don’t light up our hen houses and pressurise our girls to lay all year round under artificial light. We let nature take its course; so, as we all wait for the daylight hours to lengthen, we thought we might egg-cite you with a few interesting things about the humble egg and the magical hen that lays it. Plus, we have added into the mix some silly questions we have been asked about eggs over the years.
