About ceramic eggs...

[Stephanie_VA]

I have 6 black stars that I expect to begin laying in about 5 or 6 weeks. I bought a couple ceramic eggs to place in their nestbox several weeks ago but have not yet put them in. Realizing that it is possible for them to begin laying before I expect them to, how early should I put out the ceramics? Is it possible to do so too early?

 

[lazy gardener]

They start exploring the nests before the first egg appears. I would ready the nest boxes, and put the ceramic eggs in when the girls are around 14 weeks old. Be prepared for them to do a lot of scratching and digging, you may have to replace the hay several times before that first egg shows up. Just be on the look out for them to try to sleep in the nest boxes. If that happens, you will have to block the boxes in the evening and open them back up in the morning.

 

[chickens really]

I have never used them. A Chicken instinctively uses boxes to nest in. ...

 

[RWise]

I keep golf balls in my nests all the time, and the girls seem to like this. I can move the balls into one nest and the girls follow them.
I do have a few ceramic eggs, the girls do not like the black one. Any nest I put it in, they stop using that nest.

 

[aart]

If that happens, you will have to block the boxes in the evening and open them back up in the morning.

....or open back up after dark when you lock up.

I have never used them. A Chicken instinctively uses boxes to nest in. ...

Fake eggs are good tool in certain situations. So don't knock them

 

[lazy gardener]

I love to use fake eggs. They are a great advantage. Yes, my hens do use the boxes. But, I purposefully move those eggs from box to box to keep those gals "unsettled". They will lay where the fake eggs are. So, by moving them around now and then, it prevents them from getting into the mind set: "This is MY NEST BOX, and this is THE ONLY NEST BOX I will use!"