I need help getting my chickens to find their nesting boxes!

[Bantamlover124]

I have found a nest of eggs behind some cages once, we were casually cleaning the coop, we move the cage from the wall and AHHHHH! There is a whole, probably 100 stack of eggs. We figured our Hamburgs had been laying in there. And amazingly, under each layer was a small not even inch thick layer of hay...such a wierd little hen...rather sneaky too...
I have also found a nest of eggs in my garden, chickens love long grass, and my garden is litterally a jungle-and chickens love corners, I guess it makes them feel safe and sheltered.

 

[taylorcain123]

I find it hard aswell

 

[TERRY4]

Our chickens have 3 attached 6 foot pens, they go out into. They don't run loose. Around here they be dead, so have to be penned in. BUT they have a lot of room and I give fresh veggies and fruit, feed and water in the coop, and they're happy girls!

So, I know where our eggs are going to be. They started laying a couple of days ago and are leaving 1 daily so far. Not sure who is doing it, but the egg this morning was in a different nest. I mentioned this a few tmes now, but, I have a golf ball in EACH nest. They got the idea! Yours will too. Our nest boxes have a slanted roof to keep them from roosting ON them. These are inside the coop.

 

[GFamily]

I have 15 Red and Black Sex-Link hens and only 1 is laying. They're just now turning 20 weeks at the end of this week. I did not have to tell her where to lay. I didn't even have to show her the nesting boxes. They have curtains on them and she was totally down for it when she was ready to start laying on her own. I did notice that now the other chickens peak through the curtains and look at her, but the bedding in one of the other nesting boxes that she doesn't lay in is being moved around so I am guessing some others will be along shortly to start laying. They didn't even go in their nesting boxes or look at them until this first hen was ready to lay an egg and she went in there and did her business then got out. Like I said, we didn't have to show them anything.... Now, maybe some of the others might be a bit more stubborn, but our first girl got it. And we have fake brown eggs from a craft store in there.

This is just to show you the picture of the nesting boxes and the curtains. These were when our girls were younger.







Here is our one girl laying her egg on her second day laying.

 

[Alaskan]

Oddly enough all of my pullets have been laying in a clear plastic tote that is nailed up on the wall and filled with Sweet PDZ.

So, no privacy, and these are pullets who havent ever laid before. I havent found a single egg anywhere else.

 

[iwanaplae2]

I was thinking the same thing about the foil trays...not so much the shiny part, as maybe the sound tin foil makes. My girls startle easily, so I wouldn't use that. If your wanting an easy cleaning options, I'd try plastic bins from the $ Tree, or wherever. As far as the eggs, chickens aren't really color blind but they don't see colors the way we do. Think of it like a color negative... lighter colors, are better. Dark colors look like black to them.
Other than that...good luck

 

[taylorcain123]

Tonight I just picked them up and put them in the boxes and they stayed in there

 

[SussexInSeattle]

Tonight I just picked them up and put them in the boxes and they stayed in there

If you place your chickens into nest boxes in the evening or nighttime, they will be happy to start roosting in there because they don't like to move at all after dark. This will only teach them to poop in their work station (The nest boxes) and you will have poop covered eggs. If you would like clean eggs, do not put your chickens in your nest boxes at nigfht, put them onto roosting bars and let them go into the nest boxes only when an egg is ready to be laid during daylight morning hours and afternoon hours.

 

[kodster]

Sounds crazy but if you "mate" with the hens - when they squat give them a vigorous rub along their back paying special attention to the tail area and tugging a little on their neck feathers, they may start to lay. I have had success with this on over half of our chickens. Almost like I am reminding them that they are coming of age by "mating" with them and they start to lay within a couple days.

Hmmm... maybe that's why my girls have started to lay for me! They submit to me, by stomping their feet, and then squatting. I always pet them when they do that. I could be sitting there in the coop with them (I have an 8x12 utility shed that I've modified for them), and they'll come along side of me, wanting attention. Anytime I reach out to them, that's their behavior. My younger birds, and the ones that are not mature enough (my White Jersey Giants, for example, are the same age as my RIRs and Black Australorp hens that are laying, but they mature slower) don't do this yet. So, obviously, they consider me the dominant bird in the flock. They all, also, come running to me when I come into their run or the coop, including my 5-week old chicks that I put out there 5 days ago.

 

[kodster]

I had no idea that I might have a problem with this until I read this thread! Many people on here, and that I know personally, have told me that ALL of my chickens will lay in the same box. I only made one box when I designed my coop! Also, I am reading a lot of suggestions for hay-I don't think I can find hay in my store and leafs are rare here in the desert. I was planning on using wood shavings just like the ones I use for the coop floor. Suggestions?

I have found that my hens prefer one particular nesting box to the others (there's 8 nesting boxes), and will stand in line, waiting and complaining, until it opens up. I already have one hen that is trying to go broody on me, and she wants that particular box! I have to remove her egg, and gently take her out, and then outside into the run, so that the next hen can take her spot. They will use another box, if they simply cannot wait any longer, but they do like that one particular box!