can you put a fake egg in...

[ChuckenGirl]

the nest box to show a chicken where to lay, we put one in there and they pecked at it for a while, but will the hen learn to lay there or what?
and fake egg as in a real egg that is in there as in an imitation egg.

 

[lizardz]

I put fake eggs in my nesting boxes. The girls pecked them, flung them all over the coop - I just kept putting them back in the boxes. After a couple of false starts, all but one stubborn hen laid in the boxes. They do treat their own eggs better than the did the fake ones
Good Luck and enjoy those eggs when they start arriving!
Liz

 

[Tuffoldhen]

A fake egg (wooden or plastic)...golf balls work well too...the golf balls are alittle heavier and they can't knock them out as easy...and yes they will knock them out some just put the eggs or golf balls back in...didn't take my pullets long to know where to lay.....

 

[Dawn419]

We used golf balls as "fake eggs" to help teach our girls to lay in the nest boxes. It worked with most of them...but we had one Easter Egger dirl that prefered to lay her eggs in the coop litter (pine shavings) for the first few weeks. She eventually got the hang of using the nest boxes.

Hope this helps!

Dawn

 

[gmc]

It's interesting to read about all the approaches to entice hens to lay in nest boxes. I had no issue whatsoever with getting my hens to lay in the boxes. I have litter on the floor and hay in the boxes (its different, and more natural I think). To me that was key. However, I did have an issue with what I thought was eat-eaters but that was only because I didn't have the nest bottoms lined properly and was cracking the eggs when they laid. A hen will eat their eggs if they are cracked or broken.

I believe production in my coop would fall dramatically if golf balls were used as time to play a couple rounds before dinner would interfere with normal production time. But to each their own, whatever works, right?

 

[lauracarmer]

I have wooden eggs in with my new layers and today is the first day they both laid in the nest rather than on the concrete or a patio chair

And both new eggs were snuggled right up to that wooden egg.

 

[Charlie Chicken]

Quote:
You have the key gmc. With shavings on the floor and hay in the nest boxes 90 percent of the training is done for you and the girls will figure out the rest!

 

[patandchickens]

i use an egg-shaped and -sized rock

Pat

 

[Flufnstuffs~FluffySilkies]

One of my persistant silkies managed to find 3 tiny rocks and roll them all the way to her favorite vorner where she made a nice depression in the sand and tryed her darndest to hatch them.

I say go for the rocks Got any white paint

 

[Charlie Chicken]

And if you don't have any golf balls or rocks handy you can always use a hard boiled egg. Works great.

Kind of reminds you of what we are all dealing with here doesn't it? A creature that will attempt to hatch its young by sitting on ceramic, plastic, wood, golf balls, and even on nothing at all in an empty nest!