Chickens not laying in nesting boxes......

[CrotonChickens]

so we FINALLY got eggs. We are beyond excited!!!!

However, our chickens are laying their eggs on the ground, and they have made an indent in the ground to do so. This morning there was an egg on the poop board (broken) as we think they laid it while they were roosting. Is this normal? The two that we have are uncommonly large -- is it possible they are too big for the nesting boxes we built? (12" x 12")? should we build one a little larger for them? Advice please!!! Thank you!

 

[Happy Chooks]

Congrats on the eggs!

Yup, normal. Mess up the "nest" on the ground to discourage them from laying there. Put fake eggs or golf balls in the nesting box to encourage them to lay there. Sometimes, they get surprised by the egg coming and plop it whereever. All it will take is 1 girl getting it in the nest box and all the others will follow. I've had first eggs in the run, under the feeder, under the roosts, etc and they all make it to the nest boxes.

 

[NanaLantana]

I guess you didn't 'train' them to use the nest boxes? When my pullets started to do the egg complaint, even weeks before they began to lay, I'd take them and place them in the nest box. You might have to do this - place the chicken in the nest box, and push her down gently. hold her there for about 30 seconds, then let her up. She'll leave, but at least you've shown her where to sit down. When they first start to lay, they don't really know what's going to happen. So sometimes they'll lay an egg while roosting, and it will break when it falls on the poop board. After their first egg, and I've shown them where to sit down, I've never found an egg anywhere but in the nest boxes.

Hope this will work for you, it did for me