Hen(s) moving eggs & how to stop them

[hellotrixie]

Hello everyone in chicken land!

I have an Easter Egger pullet (~29 weeks old) that is giving me a little trouble. She likes to make a nest and lay her eggs on the floor of the coop. I've resolved this with other chickens in the past by covering their desired spots with flower pots/boards/etc and encouraging them into the nest boxes by making them dark/cozy and providing fake eggs.

This hen is very stubborn, and not only refuses to use the nest boxes, I believe she is moving the fake eggs, and any real eggs she finds in the nest boxes, to her preferred spot on the floor. She's broken some eggs doing this because I have a fairly high lip on my nest boxes and I think she is flinging them over it somehow. It is also possible there is more than 1 offender, however, I am finding everyone else's eggs in the boxes for the most part.

I am trying to understand what is causing this egg moving behavior, and how to correct it. Any ideas?

Thanks!!

 

[chickenlittle21]

Does she sit on the eggs all day and night?

 

[hellotrixie]

Does she sit on the eggs all day and night?

Nope. She does not seem to have any characteristics of broodiness. She just moves the eggs around, lays her egg, and leaves.

 

[aart]

She's just nuts!
Is she low bird?
How long has she been laying?
Maybe she doesn't like the dark nests?

 

[hellotrixie]

She's just nuts!
Is she low bird?
How long has she been laying?
Maybe she doesn't like the dark nests?

LOL, she is nuts!

She is not the low bird. Out of 5 hens, she appears to have at least 2 birds below her in the order. I did just finish integrating (long process) 4 pullets (not laying yet), bringing the total flock to 9 birds. The younglings mostly keep to themselves so they are kind of like 2 separate groups still. The egg moving stuff predates any efforts at introducing the new birds.

Re: dark boxes...I have considered giving her a basket or something similar, so she has another option besides the next boxes. I wondering if doing that, and giving her a nest egg in there, would stop her from messing about with the other eggs?

 

[aart]

Re: dark boxes...I have considered giving her a basket or something similar, so she has another option besides the next boxes. I wondering if doing that, and giving her a nest egg in there, would stop her from messing about with the other eggs?

Hmmm...It might, all you can do is try.
I'd try lightening the other nests.....I'm assuming curtains?
Pics might help here.
It's just weird that she's going into nests and pulling out eggs and moving them to that corner.

 

[hellotrixie]

Hmmm...It might, all you can do is try.
I'd try lightening the other nests.....I'm assuming curtains?
Pics might help here.
It's just weird that she's going into nests and pulling out eggs and moving them to that corner.

No curtains but the lighting in the coop is dim even during the day. I have a light in my coop that is on for 1hr at sunrise and sunset. I could have it stay on all day to lighten things up in there.

Here's a pic of the interior. The window is on the right and there is also a pop door on that side. I have large solid doors on one side of the coop and that is where I am taking the pic from.

She goes to the corner in the back left of the pic and makes a little nest in the shavings.
It is super weird. I wasn't sure who it was for a while, but yesterday I was off work and was hanging around with the chickens so I saw them all go in to lay their eggs, and I happened to check the boxes and see the fake eggs in there just before she went in to lay. When she came out, the eggs were moved. I'm trying to get my chicken cam working so I can watch/record her.

It is a chicken mystery LOL

 

[aart]

Oh, I can see how it would be easy for her to roll some eggs around.
4 nests there....and the farthest one doesn't have a front lip??
I assume you gather eggs from a door outside coop?
Might try nest bedding that is different from the floor bedding.

 

[LaFleche]

She obviously has some hidden hamster genes as have some of mine too.

I would have never believed a chicken to be able to move eggs from one nest to another until I saw mine doing it. Not accidentally, but on purpose.

 

[hellotrixie]

Oh, I can see how it would be easy for her to roll some eggs around.
4 nests there....and the farthest one doesn't have a front lip??
I assume you gather eggs from a door outside coop?
Might try nest bedding that is different from the floor bedding.

Now that I look, the pic is a little deceiving. There are actually only 3 nest boxes, all with a lip of about 3 inches, although shavings tend to pile up in drifts in front of the boxes. I marked them here. Where the X is there is just a wall, but it does kind of look like an opening in this pic.

Here it is from the outside. The lid of the box lifts up to collect the eggs.

I have excelsior mats in the boxes and the girls pick at them and fluff them up. But a fair amount of shavings get into the nest boxes too. I was wondering about switching to something softer/fluffier, such as that fine hay people buy for rabbits. My girls also love pine straw (we have a ton in the yard) so I have considered using that.

I'll keep tinkering and see if I can discourage her. Mostly it isn't a big deal, but my oldest hen lays EXTRA large eggs that have thinner shells, and they are getting pushed out of the nest box and broken. It makes a mess in my bedding and we miss out on the eggs!

Thanks for all your input!!