Bedding too deep?

[jhoffLVT]

Well, I started out with a nice 3" thick layer of shavings in the girls coop, and added straw to their nest boxes... I came out to check on them the next day and there were two random eggs in the coop - no where near the nest box area. They had completely moved all of the straw and actually moved the nest boxes (2 of them) out of the designated nest box area and are sleeping there instead. So my one hen who just started laying, I had noticed that she made her own "section" randomly on the floor of the coop and I actually watched her lay her egg there two days in a row. She had used some straw from the nest box... I thought maybe the other hens would start laying too, if I added more shavings and straw. Now I feel like that was a horrible idea and I've ****** them off. All they do now is scratch in it, and when I opened the side of the coop today I didn't even see the eggs until one hen scratched all the way through the 5-6" of bedding and they rolled right onto the ground. Do I need to take out all of the extra bedding I put in? They won't use the nest boxes... I've tried golf balls, etc.. I noticed one other hen just started laying today, and I had to dig around for that one too! What have I done?!

 

[jhoffLVT]

Anyone?

 

[TalkALittle]

What are your nest boxes made from? You said your hens moved them. Maybe they need to be secured or anchored down. I had 4 identical boxes but only two were anchored down and the other 2 wobbled a bit. I don't think my girls trusted the wobbly ones because they rarely used them until I secured them to the wall.
Are the boxes out in the open, in a brightly lit spot, covered? I put mine in the corner of the coop and hung a little "curtain" in front of the lower ones to make it more secluded and seem more protected. My girls lay in those nests most often. It's silly because the spot they chose on their own was not secluded or protected but that's what they seem to prefer in a nest box.

 

[jhoffLVT]

They look like this:


Now, haven't secured them but I will try that. They always just dig everything out of them. The bad part about this is, they decided to sleep in the area where the nest boxes *should* go. This is our coop,and you can see on the far end close to the fence where we have the extension where the boxes should go. Do I need to secure the nest boxes into their designated area and block that off at night and allow access in the mornings? (There is hardware cloth in the spaces that you can see between the tin).


Thank you for your help!

 

[TalkALittle]

Do they have a roost in the coop to sleep on? If given the option, most will prefer to roost at night rather than sleep on the floor. The exception being Silkies, brooding hens, and sometimes senior citizen birds. If they don't have a roost then give them one and block off the nest boxes at night. Block them before they go in at night so they have time to see the change and find the roost themselves. If they don't roost on their own place them on the roost. Make sure you get out there early in the morning to open the nest boxes back up before they need to lay. I'd also continue to put fake eggs in the nests so when the girls investigate the nests boxes (which they will probably do when you open them back up each morning) they notice them.

 

[TalkALittle]

As for securing your nest boxes, you probably don't need to since the nesting area is separate from the rest of the coop. I'm guessing they fit in there pretty nice and it's good to be able to remove them for easy cleaning. You may just want to install a piece of wood in front of them to prevent the hens from being able to move them into the main coop area.

 

[jhoffLVT]

I'll make the adjustments this weekend with the help of my husbands, and they do have roosts, 1sq ft per bird... Can I just put two of the original eggs from earlier in the week in the nest boxes as they are small and probably won't get eaten this go-round.

 

[TalkALittle]

Personally, I wouldn't use real eggs. Since your girls scratch everything out of the boxes and move the furniture around I'd be afraid the eggs would get broken. The last thing you want is for them to discover how good raw eggs taste or you might end up with an egg eater. Use golf balls or wooden or ceramic eggs instead.

 

[aart]

New layers can be quite goofy acting, they don't know what they are doing at first and can be confused and anxious, it can take up to a month or so before they get it all figured out. Putting some fake eggs or golf balls in the nest might help show them where to lay. They may scratch around in the nests for weeks before laying. Meanwhile, eggs everywhere, some of them can be rather funky looking, soft or thin shelled, huge double yolked eggs.