Confused Girls

[muddler6]

Today I went to collect the eggs, and had some interesting surprises. I always feed the birds first, when I opened the run where the feeder is, I found an egg just inside the door, that is about 6 feet from the nest boxes and a 2 foot drop. I suspect that either that bird had an egg sneak out by surprise or one of the birds scooted it out of the nest and played soccer with it. My youngest bird finally started dropping eggs too, but is laying them in the middle of the coop in the litter, today in the corner. The first two eggs I thought maybe one of the others took it out of the nest, but I could see an impression in the wood shavings where she sat and the egg was right in the middle of it. But one girl managed to get the egg where it belonged. The nice thing is that I only have 3 girls now, and all of them have different looking eggs by size, shape and color. SO, I have tried the golf ball trick, normally the two older gilrs get it done right, but I am a little worried that now they are starting to stray from the nest box and just lay them where ever they happen to be. Is this a phase or do I need to step in and do something with them?

 

[Queen of the Lilliputians]

I kept plastic eggs in my nest boxes for months, even after the girls started laying. So far so good, they only LAY in the nests.

That said, there have been a few eggs at different times that I've found on the floor. My thinking is that for whatever reason they got kicked out of the nest (by accident).

Kind of a bummer, because I don't use the SUPER DUPER dirty eggs.. they just get used for fert. test (one of these days they WILL be fertile

) and then put in the trash. Normal dirty is fine.. filthy from rolling in poo on the floor is YUCK.

Meghan

 

[muddler6]

I follow the same line of thinking. I am hoping today to find 3 good eggs in the nest box, I'm keeping the faith. The one who just started laying will figure it out, it was just a surprise to see that an egg from one of my good hens as far away from the nest box as she could possibly get. I have one obnoxious cockeral that I think is getting in and messing with the eggs some times, I caught him in the nest box once which I thought was odd. Maybe if I put a bigger lip on the nest box it would keep them from rolling the eggs out if that is what is happening.

 

[bantymum]

I have only 2 chooks that will share the nest, the others prefer to have their own!
Any chance of fitting another box in there?

 

[muddler6]

I currently have 3 nest boxes, the two older girls use the same one, and have since they started laying. I stopped down to check on them just a bit ago and the "confused" one was perched on the lip of the nest box, so I calmly closed the door back up in hopes that she was going in, but a 1/2 hour later she was not in there and no egg in sight. I forgot to mention that I had a golf ball in each nest, but someone kept taking it out and I even lost track of one, I suspect it is burried in the straw in the run. I just hope that I don't find some old eggs in there too when I clean it out this spring.