If you are considering keeping backyard chickens to provide fresh eggs for your family, it’s important to know how many hens you’ll need. If you don’t have a source for excess eggs you’ll want to make sure you don’t have too many hens. Maintaining a flock also means an extra chore, the more birds you have the more work there is, so it’s best to start sensibly.
The rule of thumb is two standard-size hens per family member. This will keep your refrigerator stocked with an ample supply of eggs every week.
Note: Although starting with a small flock, make sure you buy or build a coop that will allow you to add more birds later. More space is always better than not enough. Expanding coops size can be an expensive afterthought.
There are many different types of nest box bedding that chicken keepers use. There’s no right or wrong one, you just have to find the one that suits your bird’s needs or preference for the type of nest boxes you have.
Nesting material is important, if your hens scratch around in their nesting box and kick all the bedding out you’re going to have broken eggs. The kind of nesting boxes you have is also important. If they are semi-enclosed for privacy, such as a wooden box with a hole for entry there is less chance your birds will kick out their nest material. Shredded burlap partially covering the entry hole is also helpful.
Bedding Materials / Pros and Cons
Wood shavings: A great choice if you have a box that will prevent the chickens from kicking it all out of the nest.
Straw: Many people use straw, it’s inexpensive and goes a long way. However, it does get hard and brittle which can cause irritation to the hen’s vent area. It also tends to mold.
Grass hay: I like it because it’s soft and stays soft for at least a month and my birds don’t kick it out of the nest. But a little spendy.
Sand: Clean, and makes for an easy clean-up using a kitty litter box scoop.
Solutions for Broken Eggs in the Nest Box
Lining the bottom of nest boxes with a cushioning material under the nest bedding can be very helpful if you are finding broken eggs.
Here are a few ideas that are often used as nesting box liners.
Corrugated cardboard
Rubber shelf liner
Carpet, upside down
Artificial turf (I use this)
Rubbermaid kitchen sink mats
TBN Ranch Chicken Keeping Resources 