Can you teach a chicken to lay in the nest?

[UrbanFarmerKim]

I only have 2 hens, a Buff Orpington and a Light Brahma. My BO has been laying eggs for about 3 weeks now but my Brahman has not been, or so I thought. Found an egg this morning under the wheelbarrow behind a pile of stuff. I know she has been hanging out in that area for the past week (I coop them at night and let them free range during the day - live in the city with a large backyard). Not sure when it was laid. My BO always goes back into the coop and into a next box to lay her eggs. Can I teach my Brahma to do the same thing? If I keep them cooped all day for a few days (hate to do that really) would that encourage her to start going to the box to lay like the BO does? Or will she always find creative spots to leave her eggs each day?

Also, do some Brahmas have speckled eggs or is this just an oddity?

 

[redsoxs]

You can probably do so by keeping her cooped so she has to lay there - perhaps put a couple fake eggs like golf balls in the next box to show her the way. After a week or two of laying in the next box she will probably return to it once you start free ranging her again. Good luck!

 

[DancingWthDucks]

I would try and keep them confined to their coop and run for a couple of days, and put dummy eggs, or even leave a few dated eggs from your BO. Good luck, I hope you manage to train her to use the nest box- it is really tiring trying to hunt for the daily duck eggs around my garden!

 

[UrbanFarmerKim]

Thanks!

Was just outside walking the yard looking for eggs with Gladys (brahma) tagging along on the hunt. No other eggs found, so that must be her first egg. That is unless one of the dogs found another egg and ate it already.

Gerti (BO) is so adamant about laying in the next box that while we were walking the yard, she was up on the back porch pitching a fit. Guess her box was not just right and needed a little scooping and a bit of new shavings added back. She will often, if the box does not meet her standards, come up to the back porch and yell until I come out and address the issue. Their coop is clear out back, quite a ways from the house and porch. As soon as I address the issue, she hurries into the box. Waiting now for the announcement song that she has finished laying. She is a funny chicken and has me well trained!