Broken eggs

[Thegirliesmom]

My girls will not lay eggs in their nesting boxes??? I keep finding broken eggs…What do I do????

 

[airmechreed]

try fake eggs in the nesting boxes.....woodden eggs is what I have. I bought them at a hobbie store. I have heard of people using golf balls and ping pong balls as well......Good Luck!

 

[Fred's Hens]

I literally "train" pullets. It is harder to re-train older hens, but this is what I do. I give them a laying box or two just, just before they begin laying. That time is coming when they get their red combs and wattles and some begin to squat at my feet. Only then do they get a laying box. I place a laying box or two right on the floor of their coop. I don't expect them to figure out a laying box that is up high until much later on, as mature hens.

If younger pullets are in with older hens, the older hens set the example and I don't have to do any teaching.

It does help to put a golf ball or two in the laying boxes. I've seen the pullets stare into those boxes at that golf ball with great interest. I'm sure they see it as an egg of some kind. I also will not let point of lay pullets range until they've mastered the egg laying in the box, which normally takes place before 2 pm. I'll range them from 2 pm to dark.

Once the training period has ended, then they are safer to let out at noon and then, eventually, at 10 am perhaps. Best wishes.

 

[Thegirliesmom]

Great advice! I will try it and see what happens..I have noticed them squating in front of me, I thought they were trying to poop…lol

 

[LT]

Fred's Hens :

I literally "train" pullets. It is harder to re-train older hens, but this is what I do. I give them a laying box or two just, just before they begin laying. That time is coming when they get their red combs and wattles and some begin to squat at my feet. Only then do they get a laying box. I place a laying box or two right on the floor of their coop. I don't expect them to figure out a laying box that is up high until much later on, as mature hens.

If younger pullets are in with older hens, the older hens set the example and I don't have to do any teaching.

It does help to put a golf ball or two in the laying boxes. I've seen the pullets stare into those boxes at that golf ball with great interest. I'm sure they see it as an egg of some kind. I also will not let point of lay pullets range until they've mastered the egg laying in the box, which normally takes place before 2 pm. I'll range them from 2 pm to dark.

Once the training period has ended, then they are safer to let out at noon and then, eventually, at 10 am perhaps. Best wishes.

This is excellent advice. Out of our nine girls, one of them started laying at 18 1/2 weeks. I noticed that she had gotten very red in the comb and wattles, and so we started keeping them in the run until she laid. She laid her first egg in the nest box and has every day since. The next girl didn't start laying until 24 weeks, so she had plenty of observation time with our one layer. Since then, every egg has been laid in the nest box, and we let them out to range around 11 am, at least when we are home to monitor them.​