Where do free range chickens lay eggs?

I found a small nest of four eggs in my daughter's play house!! Ya never know where they might end up!!

Hello, I am brand new to this website but have been thrilled to happen upon it and the plethora of GOOD advice about chickens laying eggs everywhere but the nesting boxes.
I just recently allowed my 6 month old chickens to start free ranging around the property ----last week I found 2 dozen eggs hidden in "illegal" nests in the woods!
I was shocked!
As of this morning, those chickens are being "cooped up" until very late in the afternoon when I'll let them out for some fresh air but I am hoping that I can break them of this dreadful habit! I have 20 hens and one rooster and my granddaughter sells the eggs for her college fund so we aren't messing around about those eggs!
What I am really curious about is this : CAYENNE PEPPER!
Please, if you don't mind, tell me THAT old wives' tale....how much did you use? How did you administer it? Why do you think it works?
I'll try anything!
I hope you receive this email as I am dying to hear more about this.
Thank you very much.

Rafter 7 Paint Horses said:

Mine love to hide their eggs from me! When I find a nest and rob it of it's treasure a few times, they find somewhere else to hide them!
i have found eggs in the horse feeders, buckets and cages that were hanging up for storage, in flower pots stacked up for storage, in the hanging feeders, in brush piles we haven't burned yet, in the lawn chairs, behind everything that is difficult for me to get to...and in the nest boxes!

Mostly, unless I am getting way too few eggs, I don't bother looking that hard. But when I only find 2 dozen eggs in the nests, it is time to go on a treasure hunt! Then I lock my girls up in their runs for a few days to remind them where they are supposed to lay. After a couple of days, they start laying in the nest boxes again.

OH...and I threaten them verbally, too. Seems to work.

Jean

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I love your paint! Here is mine. His name is Hoss https://www.backyardchickens.com/gallery/image/view/id/4882571/album/6151137

"Got rid of them"?

I heard a suggestion from an old cowboy, multi generation chicken person; Leave them in their hutch, pen, whatever, UNTIL they lay, then let them out. Some can be slow, will take days for them to lay, however once they are 'trained' the hutch, house, pen, is where to lay, they don't break from it. They go to the hutch, each and every tie it's time to pop one out......
Sounded like good old fashion common sense.
I have 2 new roos, 2 yr old Plymouths, 3 mo old sexlink and LH. 1 Plymouth is starving me, unusual. I've been hiking around....
The roos are only about 8-9 weeks old. Learning to crow. Are 1 of my Ply girls ALREADY brooding somewhere?
Can the 5 mo olds get fertile BEFORE they even lay a non fertile egg?
Sorry to high jack the thread. It's a bit hot to be hiking in the rocks, Looked in previous places, set boxes in places SL and Leghorn hang out, finding hen paths & 'set' places, but Holy Cow, MY Dr must of bribed them I needed exercise......Whew!

I am waiting for my first eggs and realizing I should have not started free ranging if I ever want to find that first egg!?! Argh....I am Hoping that they will lay somewhere where I will be able to find them. I let them out of the coop every day around 8:30am and they free range pretty much within our small half acre. They put themselves back in before it gets dark. I've had ceramic eggs in the nest boxes for about a week. Crossing my fingers! I would leave them in the coop until that first egg appears but I am afraid the chickens will get too hot in the coop...

We've got a young olive egger named Hopper who started out laying in the nest boxes like everyone else (it was very exciting to have yet another egg color in the mix), but we haven't found an olive egg all week, so I suspect she may be laying in a hidden nest on the property. Hopper is the only one of our chickens who is truly free range. They have a big run area, and all the other hens are quite content to stay in it. They don't even come out when we leave the gate open. But Hopper has always been very bold and independent. She loves to fly out of the run and wander all over the yard. She even comes up to the back door and squawks at us for treats. I really love her free spirit and can't imagine trying to shut her up in the coop or clipping her wings so she can't fly out of the run. But, on the other hand, I'm really missing those olive eggs. I think we'll just have to wait till a weekend day when we're hanging out at home and can spy on her till she does the egg song, then maybe we can find her alternate laying spot. I had the idea of building a little nest box that could be out in the yard just for her. If I made it appealing, I wonder if she would use it on her field trips?

When we had ours free ranging, anywhere was game. It was like an Easter egg finding contest every day. Even one on our gravel driveway.

flowerfaerie1 said:

My hens hate me right now. Our "leader of the pack" started hiding her eggs and the other girls started following suit. To break the habit I kept them on lock down all day yesterday and by 6pm still only had 3 out of 5 eggs. This morning I made them stay in the run again and all I hear is disgruntled clucking. At one point I heard an egg song and saw that Cosette had laid her egg and so I let her out. Like the other girls are going to get the idea that if they lay they get to free range too.

But that's how it's going work, lay me an egg or stay locked up! LOL

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I need to do the same. I work 7am to 5:30 pm and have an hour drive each way. Problem is, I leave my chickens out at 6:00 am and put them in at dark. My mother and father in law both live on the farm too. They keep an eye on the birds but are not really active in egg gathering or chicken training. My chickens are completely free range. Should I just keep them completely cooped for a few days to a week since I am not home all day to see who is doing what? I have 9 hens and I am only getting two eggs a day! We live on 250 acres so I am not finding the nests. They cover a large area.