Can you “Pavlov Dog” a Flock to Lay in the same spot?

[Jimin]

I have 10 hens that I free range. They first collectively laid their eggs underneath my back staircase which I got worried about because we have opossums that like to hang around there. So I took all of the eggs from that spot and they immediately stopped laying there.

A couple of days pass and one day a hen laid an egg on my back porch. I thought I was pretty hilarious because my entire family is constantly there but she seemed cool enough to lay and egg there. I was going to go and collect it but my dad said to just leave it.

He said that if you leave it, then they’re more inclined to lay their eggs in the same spot. But it’s only that hen.

The other girls weren’t laying their usual 6-8 eggs a day. I knew they were laying eggs somewhere around my backyard, I just couldn’t pinpoint where. It was like an Easter egg hunt and to no avail I couldn’t find any. But my dad being the veteran farmer he is, found a nest of 8 eggs immediately. He’s like the chicken whisperer. They were all under a thick brush of dead branches.

Problem is is that my dad doesn’t want them to lay their eggs there anymore because he said it would attract snakes likewise I was wondering if it’s possible to pavlov dog the rest of my flock to lay on my deck? It’s super convenient for us to collect and we can monitor them at a safe distance.

Some people said to use golf balls but I don’t own any and I don’t want to go out and buy them because social distancing.

(Disclaimer, we have nesting boxes but the girls seem to eat the eggs every time they lay there.)

 

[BGcoop]

If you put golf balls or fake eggs in the nest boxes it can discourage the eating of eggs if they peck a few and nothing happens. Either of those should be available to order on line(social distancing). I have also heard of filling egg shells with something the chickens don’t like(mustard I guess)which will discourage the egg eating. Also could you move or make another nest box to put on the deck if that’s convenient for grabbing them?

 

[Jimin]

If you put golf balls or fake eggs in the nest boxes it can discourage the eating of eggs if they peck a few and nothing happens. Either of those should be available to order on line(social distancing). I have also heard of filling egg shells with something the chickens don’t like(mustard I guess)which will discourage the egg eating. Also could you move or make another nest box to put on the deck if that’s convenient for grabbing them?

My dad tried the mustard thing but my girls loved it they ate all of the mustard filled eggs that he gave the for like 3 days straight. I’ll definitely try to order some golf balls online but moving a nest box to my deck might be a bit of a challenge.

Only 3/10 of my girls actually have the guts to chill around my deck because it can get loud there from time to time since it’s connected to my kitchen. Even when I try to tempt the others with food they usually don’t budge when it comes to my deck

 

[BGcoop]

Ha! I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one with “broken” chickens that like to do their own thing.

 

[rosemarythyme]

This is like 2 separate problems... they shouldn't be eating their eggs, and they should be using the nest boxes.

With a free range flock you might need to retrain them and lock them into their run/coop for a good week or so to convince them that the nest boxes are the best option for laying.

To deal with the egg eating you can try loading up the nests with several fakes (which will also show them where to lay), so they'll hopefully get discouraged by being unable to break them, or consider a roll away nest box.

 

[Jimin]

This is like 2 separate problems... they shouldn't be eating their eggs, and they should be using the nest boxes.

With a free range flock you might need to retrain them and lock them into their run/coop for a good week or so to convince them that the nest boxes are the best option for laying.

To deal with the egg eating you can try loading up the nests with several fakes (which will also show them where to lay), so they'll hopefully get discouraged by being unable to break them, or consider a roll away nest box.

They do use their nest boxes but they have a tendency to just lay their eggs in the same spots if just one hen lays it somewhere else. So if just one of them decides that they’re going to lay an egg underneath my porch then all of them lay them there. But if I take the eggs away they all stop laying there. It’s like monkey see, monkey do.

 

[Manhen]

Sometimes the hen will carry an egg under her wing. I know this because I spot eggs in the laying room in one nest, then they are gone and another nest has several or many. I have 16 nests, the lone short wooden topless box on the floor under some of the wall mounted ones collects 2 dozen eggs of my 3-1/2 dozen every day. (Now, its going up every week.) Even better is they no longer put their toes into one or two. That may have happened when I collected them because they didn't eat the broken one.

 

[aart]

It’s like monkey see, monkey do.

It's exactly like that.
You can let them lay wherever, or 'train' them to lay in the coop nests.
Free range birds sometimes need to be 'trained'(or re-trained) to lay in the coop nests, especially new layers. Leaving them locked in the coop for a week or so can help 'home' them to lay in the coop nests. Fake eggs/golf balls in the nests can help 'show' them were to lay. They can be confined to coop and maybe run 24/7 for a few days to a week, provided you have adequate space and ventilation, or confine them at least until mid to late afternoon. You help them create a new habit and they will usually stick with it. ..at least for a good while, then repeat as necessary.

 

[beneaththeavocadotree]

I've been struggling with getting my free range hens to lay where I want them too. They were very reliably laying in the coop until ai introduced some chicks. They found the chicks annoying and moved to laying in the yard. What I did is build a variety of roosting boxes and put them around the yard in quiet places or places where I want them to lay. I put fake eggs or ping pong balls in the boxes. Then I got a bag of their favorite snacks and stared feeding them snacks next to the roost. That way they got the idea it was a good place to lay. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.