Nesting box question!!

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aart said:
I wouldn't put a bunch of aromatics in a closed area like a nest....could irritate the chickens delicate respiratory system.
Nests shouldn't be stinky anyway...if they are pooping in nests you have another problem.

For a pest deterrent, this is about the best place to use DE...I like straw flakes because they hold together well.
I put a flake of straw in the nest, sprinkle some DE over the top then wiggle/arrange the flake around to make a 'bowl' shape,
the DE will settle down into the bottom of the nest where it can't get airborn to be breathed.

Add a couple fake eggs and/or golf balls to a few of the nests......and start waaaiiiiting for that first egg!
Click to expand...



Noted. Thank you!
 
Well, we didn't open them soon enough!! the day before I had planned to open them, I was going about my normal rutine of cleaning the coop & THERE IT WAS!!! Our first EGG!! just under the roosting bar, in a make-shift nest. SO I opened the boxes, put a rubber mat down, straw & just a few mint sprigs....Next day....she laid ANOTHER ONE, BUT in the same spot as the first, I put golf balls in the nest boxes, but she will not lay in them, any suggestions?? Oh & BTW her eggs are as hard as can be, no rubber ones yet!!
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I had one pullet that wouldn't lay with the fake egg in the nest at first...so leave one nest empty.
Eventually they'll get the idea.

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. Meanwhile, eggs everywhere, some of them can be rather funky looking, soft or thin shelled, huge double yolked eggs.
 
aart said:
I had one pullet that wouldn't lay with the fake egg in the nest at first...so leave one nest empty.
Eventually they'll get the idea.

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. Meanwhile, eggs everywhere, some of them can be rather funky looking, soft or thin shelled, huge double yolked eggs.
Click to expand...
Yes, you are right on the money! She really is acting strange, I thought at first she was getting sick with something, her droppings are HUGE & somewhat discolored, is this normal for a first time layer??
 

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