Egg Laying

manbear14

In the Brooder
6 Years
Mar 30, 2013
12
0
22
Hey guys,
My hens have finally started laying eggs and I am ecstatic with the egg production...just one slight problem (well at least it bugs me lol), they wont seem to lay eggs in their nest boxes. Instead they lay them in the bottom of the coop right under where they roost. Any tips to get them to use the egg boxes? Also does anyone have any idea on when a duck will start to lay? I have three that are about 3 months old. Thanks!
Manbear14
 
Typically I do have nesting material in the nest boxes but my hens pull it out and onto the floor of the coop... I wonder if the nest boxes are too small and or short for them....
 
Typically I do have nesting material in the nest boxes but my hens pull it out and onto the floor of the coop... I wonder if the nest boxes are too small and or short for them....
Front of nest should have a 3-4" lip on it to keep bedding and eggs in the nest.

They might be too small.
Can you post a pic of the nests...or describe them in detail?


New layers can be quite goofy acting, they don't know what they are doing at first and can be confused and anxious, it can take up to a month or so before they get it all figured out. Putting some fake eggs or golf balls in the nest might help show them where to lay. They may scratch around in the nests for weeks before laying, spreading the bedding everywhere.They will scratch around a bit less in nest as they get used to the routine. Meanwhile, eggs everywhere, some of them can be rather funky looking, soft or thin shelled, huge double yolked eggs.
 
Duck start laying around 20 weeks but larger ducks like Perkins can take longer. All of mine started to lay between 21-23 weeks. Since they still have another 2-3 months you may not get eggs this year. They may hold off till spring since there is less daylight in the fall/winter.
 

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