Didn't use the nest.

[David61]

My second egg was on the poop board again in the same spot as the first egg.
At lest this egg was not broken like the first one i found.
I opened the nesting boxes after i found the first egg. She jumped into the nest as soon as i pulled it open about 9:30 am.
Last night I got two fake brown eggs and put one in two of the three nesting boxes i opened up. This morning 07:30 my second egg was on the poop board not in a nest.
what's going to help her get in the nest? I have pine shavings in the boxes. I put different amounts in each box. I have fake eggs. Do i hang curtains to make it a hidey hole? Be there in the morning to put her on the nest? Is she pooping the egg while on the roost?
. "Lawdy, Miss Scarlett, I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' chicken eggs"

 

[CluckNDoodle]

If it's only her second egg she will likely figure it out soon, especially if you keep removing the egg on the poop board quickly, she will then see the poop board as a bad place to lay her eggs and be more likely to lay where the fake eggs are "safe".
I have had a hen that would come running out of the coop after laying eggs and would occasionally have the egg stuck to her feathers from the bloom and I would find them all over the yard where they fell off, lol. She's the only hen I've ever had with that particular issue though and it only happens a few times after each molt because the fluff often gets pulled out as a result. Anyway, that's less likely to be what's happening with your pullet. I suspect she's still figuring out how things work. Many of my pullets have laid their first few eggs in random spots.

 

[chrissynemetz]

Just hang in there, she should figure it out pretty quick. Often when pullets first start laying they're not really sure exactly what's going on lol
Leave the fake eggs in the nest boxes and in a little bit she should start laying there.

 

[imnukensc]

As said previously, they'll get the hang of it, but you really should've opened the nest boxes as advised in your other thread instead of waiting.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/houston-we-have-a-squatter.1342646/

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Be patient, it's only her second egg. It's like toilet training a child. It takes a human over a year to get it right. Your hen will be okay in a week or so!

 

[David61]

Yea, but none of the other 9 were showing signs. I was defiantly waiting as long as i could so the others wouldn't trash the nests. I checked the flock and four others are starting to mock squat this morning for the first time. (raising their head, lowering their back just a little and moving off but not dropping to submit.) I noticed this mock behavior before but it was over a week before a full squat. It was 4-5 days after a full squat i got an egg.
My two barred rocks have had red wattles for the longest and are a week older but act no different. Two of the buff Os and two other ISA are starting to show different behavior but not a full squat. so sometime in the next 10 or 12 days?
My buff orpingtons have very little comb and not much wattles. Kind of pail unless excited. Then its red! I did get close to two fingers on a pelvic cheek with one of the buff. Over half the flock was one and a half fingers. On par with behavior but never doing this before has me unsure about most of it.
Fun ain't it.

 

[cmom]

I have had some pullets that recently started laying. I have found a couple of eggs on a coop floor but mostly in the nest boxes. Curtains won't make a difference. I had them in one coop. I couldn't put a hanging feeder in so I had a large feed bowl and the birds wouldn't lay in the nest boxes but would lay in the feed dish. I took the curtains down and they still sometimes layed in the feed dish but some did lay in the nest boxes. I use golf balls in the nest boxes. Good luck and have fun...

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Lol, I guess I am more laid back about it. I knew my hens were getting close to laying when I found an egg on the coop floor ! The catalog said 16 weeks but I think it was more like ... 23. They're chickens, I knew they would lay eventually.

I have more chicks coming in February. Maybe I will play closer attention this time.

 

[rosemarythyme]

It's entirely possible she's laying off the roost, new layers need some time to figure things out and that's one possible "oops." Have you seen your layer examining or exploring the nest boxes at all? The other pullets may mess around in them but as long as they don't sleep in them it's a good thing for them to explore the boxes in advance.

 

[David61]

Have you seen your layer examining or exploring the nest boxes at all?
She flew into the nest before i had time to turn around from taking off the wire screen. I was sure she was clued in. It was a shock to me she didn't use it as she looked it over good. I looked in a few times today as Its over cast, rainy, cool day. Well, 50° is cold for us. I have seen no one in the boxes but i looked in them after dark and found a little poop and the fake eggs moved around some. I'm going out at sun up and watch the show. Then its to the kitchen for ham, egg, grits, biscuits and my blackberry jelly.