Chickens not laying in boxes

[thecountryghetto]

I just put a few nesting boxes in the coop. My girls are let out to run around in the am and then put back in in the evening. I found my first egg the other day over by the woodpile, a good fifty yards from the coop. How can I get them to lay in their new boxes? Do I have to build a run for them?

Thanks,
Mike D

 

[chicmom]

An attached run is great. I have one, so my girls stay in until 5pm when I get home from work, and by then, all the eggs are layed, and they can go out to free range until bedtime, and I know there will be no hidden nests that I never find. It's a real good idea to keep them contained in the coop/run when they just start laying, so they can get into the habit of using those nesting boxes. Also, if you put a golf ball or fake egg in the nesting box, it helps them get the idea.