Cleaning coop and laying eggs?

[bkreugar]

So I strip out my coop about 4x a year. My guys free range most of the day. They mostly come back and lay in the coop. Generally when the amount layed in the coop goes down, I do 2 things. I look for hidden nests and strip the coop. As soon as I am done laying the fresh straw or hay in coop they right away go in and make nests and go back to laying in coop for a good while.

So yesterday I rounded up the kids and we stripped the coop. Told DD 13 to get fresh hay. SHe went into the horse barn (used very infrequently) and got the 1/2 bale left over from last time horses were in. ANd THERE in that hay bale the chickens had made a nice little nest with 18 eggs! I had been searching high and low for a stash and boom there was one. I had searched outside. In barn never occured to me. Of coarse chickens were hanging around while we stripped the coop, and as soon as we were done they made nests and layed in there yesterday.

So I guess they let me know when the coop needs to be stripped. They might be saying: "P U it stinks in here, I am SOO not laying in here!"

ANyone else have this experience?

 

[galanie]

I think most of us give them nest boxes with hay or something in there rather than let them make their own nests in whatever litter we provide. Your girls are definitely telling you they like to lay in clean hay! hehe

 

[N&MSchroeder]

Thanks for posting this! My chickens are free ranging much of the time but most come back in to the coop to lay. I know I have hidden nests around, but I can't find them either. I hadn't thought about looking inside our other buildings.

I usually refresh the coop every week or so by removing old material/adding new shavings and have been doing this in the morning. My hens started laying early July, so my routine has been interrupted. Every time I go in to clean the coop, there are chickens in the nest boxes. It really needs to be cleaned, so that is my plan for today. I guess I will wait until later this afternoon when I let them out to free range. I also need to add more material to the nest boxes, since they have flung a lot of it out. I don't want those who are laying in the nest boxes to quit! My husband built beautiful wooden nest boxes for them and some do lay there, but the "hot box" is a topless wooden next box I bought early on to get an idea for size while building ours. I had thrown it in the corner with some other items, and of course, the chickens found it. They stand in line to get into that one!

 

[JodyJo]

I have nesting boxes in my coop, and my girls free range all day, through out hay stacks and pole barns...
I have just started getting eggs...so far 1 on the floor in the coop, and last night one on the ground outside near
the haystacks, ( and it was not her first, it was good sized) and the rest inside the boxes...
I don't want to go on hunts, so I hope they all get it and move inside...
My boxes, BTW are filled with shavings...