Issues with laying in nesting boxes

[MollyHSmith]

My birds are just starting to lay.. hooray!

My chickens free range during the day and sleep in their coop at night. I have nesting boxes in their coop with some fake eggs in them, but they seem not to care about those I found one egg in an empty/unused coop a week ago, but since then they haven’t shown up again. Yesterday morning when I let them out, one of the hens RAN toward a pile of brush in my yard. She crawled in and laid down, and our rooster was keeping watch along the perimeter. Later that day, I climbed in the pile and found a little nest with four eggs!

I’m in Texas, so brush piles typically mean snakes. I went to move the eggs yesterday, and noticed a dead rat beside the nest. Not sure if it was there before or what. I retrieved the eggs and moved them to their nesting boxes. I haven’t seen that hen laying on them since then.

My questions are… how do I get them to like their nesting boxes? The brush pile isn’t safe (and we’re under a burn ban so I can’t get rid of it yet ). And… if she doesn’t sit on these eggs, are they safe to eat since they were beside a dead rat?

I also have ducks that have started laying… and they’re easy, they just lay in the middle of their coop and forget about them

 

[Ursuline Chick]

Have you tried leaving them in the coop in the morning? Do you have enough room so they don't fight? What are you using in the boxes? Maybe they would rather something else. How about privacy? Some hens don't like to lay out in the open. Good luck and welcome to BYC.

 

[kengboss21]

My birds are just starting to lay.. hooray!

My chickens free range during the day and sleep in their coop at night. I have nesting boxes in their coop with some fake eggs in them, but they seem not to care about those I found one egg in an empty/unused coop a week ago, but since then they haven’t shown up again. Yesterday morning when I let them out, one of the hens RAN toward a pile of brush in my yard. She crawled in and laid down, and our rooster was keeping watch along the perimeter. Later that day, I climbed in the pile and found a little nest with four eggs!

I’m in Texas, so brush piles typically mean snakes. I went to move the eggs yesterday, and noticed a dead rat beside the nest. Not sure if it was there before or what. I retrieved the eggs and moved them to their nesting boxes. I haven’t seen that hen laying on them since then.

My questions are… how do I get them to like their nesting boxes? The brush pile isn’t safe (and we’re under a burn ban so I can’t get rid of it yet ). And… if she doesn’t sit on these eggs, are they safe to eat since they were beside a dead rat?

I also have ducks that have started laying… and they’re easy, they just lay in the middle of their coop and forget about them

I would lock them in the coop without access to the outside for a day/two to encourage them to lay inside the coop/nesting box. Make sure the nesting box is dark and comfy to encourage them to use it, took my pullets some time to learn