Reviews by Tomtommom

I have 9 chickens and 2 of these boxes. Sure, everyone starts out with lofty plans of homemade eggboxes with trays and doors and whatnots.. We did too. And then we were weeks into building the coop and frankly we were feeling DONE. I found these on sale at Tractor Supply for $17.99 each and just went with it.

I'm glad I did, the girls like them a lot and it's easy to pull them off the wall, even with a chicken in it (you gotta get those broodies out there somehow..) I have only one stubborn bird who keeps laying her egg under the roosts, the others will wait patiently for their turn in the box. It's cute, when one of my birds went broody she kept occupying a box and the other girls would hop around impatiently, like a child waiting to use the bathroom.

They're a little awkward to get into, they may be better suited for slightly smaller chickens, but it's never a real issue for the girls. They make it work.

I have two white Rocks and two partridge Rocks. They're actually quite different, but that may have more to do with breeding than anything else.

The white rocks were the first to lay, at about 20 weeks of age. I get 6 eggs a week per bird and they lay double yolkers quite frequently. Mine are clearly bred for production, not quality. Their combs and feet are a bit mangled looking and they're quite light for their size, but they're very sweet birds and do not mind being handled. I currently have a broody white Rock, my first broody of my flock! Quite the surprise to me. She's been broody for several weeks, and I did not manage to break her, so she has gotten a clutch of eggs to hatch. They're due in about a week and a half. I will update on how well of a mother she is. The white color is definately a con to me, one actually got attacked by a hawk due to it.

The partridge rocks I have are likely closer to standard. They have nice combs and feet and are heavy for their size. They're very good at free-ranging and seem more aware of their surroundings. They're not very personable and are hard to catch, compared to my other birds (Australorp, Jersey giant, RIR). They're rather stubborn, and insist on laying their eggs in the litter in the coop, rather than the egg boxes. The partridge coloration is great for free-ranging, as they blend in with fallen leaf and other yard litter. I find these birds a little more prone to intestinal upset, but other than that they've been very hardy in the Alabama heat.

EDIT:
The broody abandonned her eggs on day 19. I managed to hatch two under a heat lamp. She did not want the chicks, at all.... so I had to raise them. They're doing well and have joined the adults in the coop.

The hawk attacked white rock recovered fully and is laying an egg a day again.

The broody went through an explosive molt, but regrew all her feathers.

Currently one of the partridge rocks is molting. I have noticed that the partridge rocks are the LEAST accepting of the two juveniles I hatched. They're also a bit too heavy for their size and this gives them some issues with bumblefoot. I jokingly call them my turkeys. Very heavy birds... I have actually considered eating them, as they are not the nicest birds.. but they're quite pretty.