New method for getting hens to lay in the nesting box - remove bedding elsewhere

[lingon]

Our latest batch of hens (2 BR's) has consistently refused to lay in the nesting box. The boxes are internal, with doors to the outside and made out of plastic. They seem to scare the birds, somehow. We've tried anything we could imagine, but they would always make their own nest in some corner of the coop.

Well, we had a mite problem, and removed all the hay and sprayed the coop with permethrin. Since we were going to re-pray again soon, we only added hay to the nesting boxes. Now, for 2 days afterwards, we have had eggs in the nesting boxes!

So, if you have a tiny flock and they won't lay in the right spot, try removing their bedding everywhere else.

 

[chrissynemetz]

That has worked for me in the past a few times.
At the moment I'm trying to figure out which of my ladies has decided the best place to deposit her daily egg is in the middle of my back porch.

 

[lingon]

Chickens are strange creatures.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Well, we had a mite problem, and removed all the hay and sprayed the coop with permethrin. Since we were going to re-pray again soon, we only added hay to the nesting boxes. Now, for 2 days afterwards, we have had eggs in the nesting boxes!

So, if you have a tiny flock and they won't lay in the right spot, try removing their bedding everywhere else.

In reverse, it's also a good way to convince hens NOT to sleep in nest boxes. When I recently sprayed my coop, I left the nest boxes completely empty since no one was laying at the time. My special needs bird had been try to sleep in them all winter. Welp, that was enough to convince her to try roosting again!

 

[lingon]

We have one chicken that roosts and one that sleeps in the hay. I couldn’t figure it out until I tried to put her on the roost and caught the peck and squawk. Her sister is so nasty to her that she can’t roost. And there’s plenty of space for them both.