Anybody without a nest box? I'm about ready to take mine out!

sounds like your chickens like something behind the nesting boxes more than the boxes themselves. Do you have enough 'privacy' or 'darkness' for them inside the nest boxes. Could you turn them in such a fashion that they would be a little darker, but you would still be able to reach the eggs? Like make them face away from the light, or face each other?

 

I don't use one. My hens never layed in them, so we took them out. They lay in an old clawfoot tub in the coop, or between it and the wall. I try to keep some hay or shavings there for a little nest but that's not always happening.

 

I get a few in the nest boxes, the rest in a ground nest under the nest boxes. They started the big ground nest one day, built from feathers and some leaves that blew in this fall. Not uncommon for 3 or 4 to be sitting in it at once. I started out removing it and going down to clean shavings, but they were persistent. Now I've given up. I just clean the poop out of the nest once in awhile (they keep it pretty clean) and replace the pile of leaves every couple weeks. At least they quit laying in the #^#^ hayloft between the bales.

 

Can you put the nest box where they have been laying? If that doesn't work I would just take them out. As long as they aren't laying them where they'll get stepped on or damaged I think they'll be fine. My hens have been laying underneath their coop in the corners even though they have 3 nest boxes so I just gave in made little access doors so I can reach in easily to get them.

 

Mine all lay on the floor under the raised nesting boxes--I give up, just let them do it. LOL

 

I had the same thing happening and then because I was taking the eggs daily, they started laying out in the woods. Now, I leave one egg in each nest box every day to encourage them to lay in them and they do, but I still have some that lay on the floor of the coop. I have 6 - 8 inches of Swift bedding on the floor so it's not a big deal if they lay there and it makes it easier for me to take the eggs from the boxes and put a fresh egg from the floor into each nest box for the next day

 

It does help to put fake eggs (or golf balls) in the nests. They will see them and start laying there. Anyway mine did.